SC affirms conviction of aunt in child pornography case
By Chloe Mari A. Hufana
THE SUPREME Court (SC) has affirmed the conviction of a woman sentenced to life in prison for child pornography against her six-year-old niece and two other minors in August, 2016.
Guilty of crimes under Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (Republic Act 9775) and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175), Luisa Pineda was also fined P2 million and ordered to pay her victims P300,000 in damages, the SC said in a statement on Monday.
“Pineda committed the prohibited acts in RA 9775 when she persuaded, induced, and coerced her niece to perform in the creation of nude photos and videos, and when she subsequently offered to sell these child pornographic materials,” read part of the SC ruling written by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez.
Court records showed that the victims were rescued after a tip from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alerted the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division about Ms. Pineda’s activities online.
Police confiscated a computer set and cellphone containing explicit images and videos of the niece, and conversations with a foreign client on the six-year-old’s sale were recovered.
It was learned that the niece, who gave her testimony in court, was left to the care of Ms. Pineda after the child’s parents separated.
The SC’s Public Information Office said the High Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals and the regional trial court, which both found Ms. Pineda guilty of violating RA 9775.
RA 11930, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Act of 2022, is defined as the use of information communications technology (ICT) as a way of abusing or exploiting children sexually, including offline abuse combined with an online component.
It was passed on July 30, 2022, during the pendency of the case. Ms. Pineda was charged in 2016 when the prevailing law was still RA 9775.
While RA 11930 repealed RA 9775 and Section 4(c)(1) of RA 10175, the definition of “unlawful acts as child pornography” stands the same. Ms. Pineda’s crime is still punishable in the repealed RA 9775.
Last year, one in 100 children was sexually exploited online in the Philippines, the International Justice Mission (IJM) and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab reported.
The youngest victim of OSEC in the country was a two-month-old baby, said IJM.
To report cases of child abuse, visit www.1343actionline.ph.
