An Australian man has been sentenced to 129 years in prison in the Philippines in connection with a child sexual abuse case, the youngest victim of which was 18 months old, prosecutors said on Wednesday (November 9th).
“I hope this sends a very strong message to all abusers, all human traffickers“, told AFP Merlynn Barola-Uy, regional prosecutor of the city of Cagayan de Oro (south).
Life imprisonment for rape and human trafficking
Peter Gerard Scully is already serving a life sentence for rape and trafficking in human beings, in this case young girls. The Cagayan de Oro court handed down the new sentence following the conclusion of a plea bargain for Peter Gerard Scully and his three co-defendants.
The victims and their families agreed to the terms of the settlement, according to a statement posted on the regional prosecutor’s office’s Facebook page.
60 offenses
The Philippines has become a global hub for child sexual exploitation, experts warn, a phenomenon bolstered by poverty, English fluency and high internet use in the country.
Peter Gerard Scully and his co-defendants had been charged with 60 offenses including human trafficking, child sexual abuse, rape, and child pornography.
Peter Gerard Scully’s girlfriend, Lovely Margallo, has been sentenced to 126 years in prison. Two other people were sentenced to more than nine years in prison.