The suffering of abused children and the injustice they face

By Fr. Shay Cullen

The sexual abuse of children is a most heinous crime, and the Church, civil society, and national and local authorities have tried for centuries to downplay or dismiss its seriousness and ignore its devastating impact on the victims and the psychological damage it inflicts, which surfaces once they grow up.

This crime is more widespread now, due in great part to child sexual abuse materials circulating on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. Some of them are being challenged in a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles and blamed for enabling abuse and trauma, among others.

Many of the superrich around the world are into child sexual abuse. The controversial Jeffrey Epstein files feature hundreds of the super wealthy and powerful, including politicians, businessmen, and royalty. They fly around the world in their fancy jets and sexually abuse underage girls in resorts, mansions, palaces and private islands. One of those featured is the United Kingdom’s former Prince Andrew, who was arrested and detained for hours on Thursday, apparently over his ties to Epstein. This convicted pedophile and child trafficker provided his high-powered “friends” over a thousand women and children to sexually abuse. Epstein died under mysterious circumstances — some say he killed himself, while others claim he was murdered — in his New York prison cell in August 2019, before he could testify in court.

In the Philippines, 14-year-old boys abuse 6-year-old girls after watching child pornography online. The country’s telecommunications companies (telcos) do not deploy state-of-the-art active-blocking software to intercept such evil, disgusting and abusive content on the internet, which their servers make available to both adults and children, despite the enactment of Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act.

The easy access to such content on these servers — on the internet — made these telcos wealthy and the abused children scarred for life. And the National Telecommunications Commission appears powerless and tolerant in the face of it, even complicit to a degree.

Among the most affected by such harmful images are abusive fathers. They are most likely to view child sexual abuse images on the internet and rape their own offspring. Last week, the Preda Foundation’s home for abused children welcomed three more of them, joining the 60 others already there for protection and healing.

The first is Angie (not her real name), 13, from Santa Cruz, Zambales. When she went to the Ospital ng Santa Cruz in December for a checkup, she was discovered to be five months pregnant. Her mother apparently knew, but was complicit and hid the truth. The doctor who examined Angie should have known she had been raped and should have reported it to the municipal social worker, but did not.

Angie overcame her fear of her parents and told a teacher about her condition. A municipal social worker was then informed about her and she brought the girl to the Preda home. Once Angie is emotionally and psychologically ready, legal action would be taken.

The second is Erica, 15, from San Antonio, Zambales. She was also raped by her father and got pregnant. Her parents told her to keep quiet and tell no one. But Erica wrote about her plight in her notebook that was read by her classmates, who told their teacher. The municipal social worker brought her to the Preda home soon after. Legal action is already being taken.

And the third is Regina (not her real name), 14, from Lubao, Pampanga. Like the first two, she was raped by her father and got pregnant. She reported him, leading to his arrest. She is being kept safe at the Preda home from his relatives who would like to hide her in a distant province to prevent her from testifying against her father.

The children at the Preda home are courageous. They can testify in court and get their abusers convicted if given the chance. Every year, Preda children win about 20 convictions. Their abusers get life in prison, where they can never abuse any more children. That’s the millstone Jesus of Nazareth said should be hung around their necks (Matthew 18:6–7).

The abuse and suffering children like them endure is still being tolerated or ignored by many in society and the Church, whose abuses are covered up even by some in the medical profession. The tolerance for such abuse dates to 1930, when the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines allowed a 12-year-old to be sexually abused by an adult if she “gave” consent. This was accepted by the Church, civil society and government. All remained silent, indicating their approval. That law stayed unchanged for 90 outrageous years until March 2022, when Republic Act 11648 was signed. This law raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16. Any sexual act against a child younger than 16 is now considered statutory rape.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of child sex abusers at large with arrest warrants unserved. The Philippine National Police (PNP) must do more to search and arrest them, wherever they are. “This administration will do everything — we will spare no effort — to combat these heinous crimes against our children,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. once said.

I wrote to PNP Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. with information on wanted abusers in Luzon. So far, Col. Arbel Mercullo responded quickly with the arrest of one accused child rapist, Apolinario Panaligan Sr., in Dasol, Pangasinan. Col. Benjamin Ariola, in Iba, Zambales, also responded and arrested Wilfredo Almanza on Jan. 20. The police have assured us and General Nartatez that they will search and arrest the other abusers. There have been many more criminals at large for years. Their names, addresses and photos are displayed at https://preda.org/wanted-list/. Let us bring them to justice.