Five children and one adult have been removed from harm in the Philippines following a collaborative international law enforcement investigation into a Darwin man who allegedly directed the livestreamed sexual abuse of children in the Philippines.
The man's arrest on 3 January followed an investigation which began when Australian Border Force officers allegedly located child abuse material on the man's phone.
Upon forensic examination, police allegedly found video calls from the accused to facilitators in the Philippines, instructing them to livestream the sexual abuse of children as young as six.
The 68-year-old man appeared in Darwin Local Court on Tuesday 27 May 2025, and has been charged with two counts of sexual intercourse with a child outside Australia, two counts of sexual activity with a child outside Australia, and one count of possessing child abuse material.
Following an investigation by the Northern Territory Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team, the Australian Federal Police referred this case to the Philippine National Police through the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center, of which the AFP and International Justice Mission are members.
Two police operations in the Philippines on April 9 and April 23 led to the arrest of two suspected female traffickers. Two confirmed child victims and one adult victim were relieved along with three children at risk, who were removed from the crime scene to undergo further assessment.
IJM supported both local law enforcement operations, providing the Philippine National Police with logistical and technical support. The police investigators involved in these operations had previously participated in IJM's advanced investigative workshops, basic internet crimes against children training, and had attended mentoring sessions.
National Director of IJM Philippines, Samson Inocencio Jr, commended the Philippine National Police, Australian law enforcement and border officials for effectively and consistently working together to hold perpetrators accountable, both from the demand and supply side.
"Protecting Filipino children from online sexual exploitation requires a concerted effort among Philippine authorities and their counterparts overseas. This crime thrives because there is demand from offenders abroad. I urge the governments of countries where demand comes from, and their citizens, to help safeguard the wellbeing of Filipino children by holding accountable not only the offenders but also those who operate platforms where exploitation occurs. Tech and financial institutions must ensure safety-by-design in their products," said Mr Inocencio.
IJM's Scale of Harm prevalence study estimates that, in 2022, nearly half a million Filipino children were victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly the trafficking of children for the production of new child sexual exploitation material, including livestreamed abuse.
On a per capita basis, Australia was the highest sender of suspicious transaction reports to the Philippines related to child sexual abuse material over 2020 – 2022, according to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council.
An estimated 1 in 56 Australian men have webcammed in a sexual way with a child, and around 1 in 59 have paid for online sexual interactions, images or videos involving a child according to research led by Childlight East Asia and Pacific Hub.
