Court finds 17 Chinese nationals guilty in cybersex den case

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The court convicted 17 Chinese nationals involved in an alleged cybersex den operation in Iloilo City.

The 17 individuals faced charges of Qualified Trafficking in Persons under Republic Act 9208, as amended by Republic Act 11862. The case was filed under Criminal Case No. 23-90377.

Additionally, they were charged with Obscene Publication and Exhibition through Information and Communication Technology, violating Article 201, Paragraph 2(b) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act 10951, in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Law), under Criminal Case No. 23-90378. They also faced charges of Computer-Related Fraud under Section 4(b)(2) of Republic Act 10175, docketed as Criminal Case No. 23-90379.

In an 11-page decision penned by Judge Victorino Maniba of the Regional Trial Court Branch 39 in Iloilo City and dated August 7, 2024, the Chinese nationals were convicted of a lesser offense.

They were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from four months of arresto mayor as a minimum to eight months of prision correccional as a maximum in Criminal Case No. 23-90377.

Each of the accused was ordered to pay a fine of ₱75,000, with additional imprisonment if they fail to pay.

In Criminal Case No. 23-90378, the court also found them guilty. Due to a mitigating factor—their plea of guilt—the accused were sentenced to pay a fine of ₱75,000 each, with the same provision for subsidiary imprisonment.

In Criminal Case No. 23-90379, they were again fined ₱75,000 each.

The court credited the time they spent in detention toward their sentence.

Following the ruling, the court ordered the jail warden of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo, to transfer the accused to the Bureau of Immigration.

The Bureau will manage their deportation once their sentences are served and fines fully paid.

The 17 Chinese nationals were arrested in a pre-dawn operation on November 4, 2023 at Jaro, Iloilo City.

The Iloilo City Police Office’s City Intelligence Unit (ICPO-CIU), the Philippine National Police Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU-6), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center led the operation at a rented house in Lawaan Village, Barangay Balantang, Jaro District.

Authorities recovered several computers, mobile phones, routers, and SIM cards from the scene.

The cybersex operation allegedly began six months prior to their arrest, though it was only detected a month before the raid.

The operation was exposed by a woman who accused the suspects of recruiting her for what she believed was a non-voice call center job.

She claimed that instead, she was coerced into engaging in “lustful” conversations over the phone.

The complainant said she was instructed to perform lascivious acts through a computer system equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology and a web camera.

She alleged she was photographed during these acts, although her payment for the services was not disclosed.

Initially, all the accused pleaded not guilty.

However, they later entered a plea bargaining agreement, leading to their re-arraignment and subsequent guilty pleas for a lesser offense.