Child Abuse Victims Fight for Justice and Win

By Fr. Shay Cullen

A poster declaring that “justice delayed is justice denied” is posted on many a courtroom wall as a reminder that delaying justice is crippling the Philippine judicial system. We need judicial reform, not posters. Many family courts are so swamped with child abuse cases that there is an urgent need for a special children’s court. Hopefully, Sen. Risa Hontiveros and her team are working on fulfilling that, as promised.

Fake postponements are an immoral tactic favored by defense lawyers, hoping that the traumatized victim will become tired, lose hope for justice or surrender to pressure from the alleged abuser and his supporters, and settle out of court. As a result, the abuser walks free, and judges who let them go are violating their oaths of office and corrupting themselves.

Several Catholic priests accused of child abuse in the Archdiocese of Cebu had their court cases reduced after plea bargains. They were put on probation and returned to their ministry, as if nothing happened. No justice for their victims at all.

BishopsAccountability.org identified 89 priests in the Philippines as accused of child abuse. Only one, in Cagayan province, is in jail and on trial for multiple sex acts with a young girl, which he reportedly admitted to but claimed it was consensual. The girl said he had blackmailed her by threatening to post video recordings of their alleged sex acts online. It is well-known that pedophiles just can’t resist sexually abusing children. Bishops must have the courage to hold pedophile priests to account, expel them from the priesthood, and bring them to the civil court, provided that the judges there have the courage to convict on clear evidence and resist bribes. Only then would children be saved and clerical child abuse reduced. What Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan, has recommended is to file charges and let the civil court decide.

Impunity in committing and covering up child abuse is, in my view, the greatest sin of all. Jesus of Nazareth made this clear, telling his disciples: “If anyone causes a child to lose faith in me, let a millstone be hung around his neck and thrown into the deep sea” (Mt 18:6). Instead of being punished, abusive priests are allowed to return to their ministry, during which they are likely to abuse more children. Every other crime they will commit will be on the conscience of the conniving and tolerant bishops who consequently become an accessory to the crimes.

To win convictions, abused children have to be healed and empowered first. The government has very few, if any, healing homes for such victims. These victims get little help, healing or justice, and suffer the pain and trauma of their abuse for life.

We need many more judges who deliver speedy justice to abused children. Judge Gemma Theresa Hilario-Logronio is one of them. In one case, a girl named Diana, now 15, had been groomed by her father since she was 7 to be obedient to, dependent on and frightened of him. As she grew older, she stayed with her aunt and grandparents and avoided him. But he continued to pursue and abuse her.

On June 1, 2024, Diana’s father went to her grandparents’ house and became jealous when he saw her with her boyfriend. He began to curse and beat her. Her grandparents intervened and stopped him. Later, Diana finally admitted that she had been raped and sexually abused since she was 7. The grandparents reported the abuse and a municipal social worker referred Diana to the Preda Foundation’s home for sexually abused children. Her father was arrested and held without bail, facing accusations of raping a minor.

Diana participated in the Preda family life. At the Preda home, she was offered support and friendship with many other abused children. She shared her story and underwent Preda’s emotional release therapy several times. In the home’s therapy room, over several weeks, she cried out all her anger and pain against her father. Diana grew stronger with counseling, emotional support and affirmation. She was healed and became very self-confident and emotionally strong.

She decided to file criminal charges against her father. Assisted by dedicated prosecutor Bernardine Santos, Diana bravely and confidently testified in court. After a relatively speedy trial, her father was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by Judge Hilario-Logronio of three counts of rape by sexual assault and one count of qualified rape of a minor. He was sentenced to eight to 17 years in prison for each count of sexual assault; and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for qualified rape of a minor. Justice was finally done.

Diana is living with a supportive relative and continuing her education, supported by Preda. She continues to volunteer to speak in Preda’s public seminars. She is also an influential peer counselor, helping other abuse victims. She freed herself of the fear and control of her abusive father and will go on to live a happy and successful life.

This is the ninth successful prosecution and conviction of traffickers and abusers of children referred to Preda in 2025. Last year, Preda children won 27 convictions and their abusers received long prison sentences.

Child sexual abuse is widespread and frequently committed. Researchers say one in every three girls and one in every five boys are victims of a sex crime at least once. These victims are terrified to report the abuse or crime because their abusers threatened them or they are afraid they would not be believed or even accused of lying. Those who hide the abuse and refuse to report it to the authorities become accessories to the crime. Let truth come out and justice be given to all victims of abuse.

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Father Shay Cullen founded Preda, a registered, licensed and accredited non-government organization in the Philippines. It stands for People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance (Preda) Foundation.

Preda’s mission is to defend and promote human rights and dignity through direct action in rescuing, protecting, healing and empowering exploited, trafficked and abused children, giving legal assistance, and aftercare. It aims to prevent exploitation through sustainable development, and fair trade for poverty alleviation.

Any original information, stories, or news articles posted on this site authored by the Preda Foundation and may be shared, copied, or reproduced without further permission in support of the truth, freedom of expression, and the right to know.