12 rescued from cybersex den in Cavite

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines—The Cavite police on Tuesday broke into an alleged sex den which they believe was part of a larger human trafficking syndicate recruiting young men into the cybersex business.

Armed with a search warrant, the police raided the  apartment of Loyd dela Cruz in Barangay Calibuyo in Tanza, Cavite  around 3 a.m. and confiscated eight laptops and two computer tablets, according to a text message from Cavite police director Senior Superintendent Alexander Rafael.

He said Dela Cruz, from Bulacan province, was the operator of the cyber sex den from which the police rescued 12 male “chatters.”

“They referred to themselves as ‘chatters’ because they chat online with the foreigners as they perform sexual acts in front of the web cam,” said Cavite intelligence officer Supt. Romano Cardiño  in a phone interview.

Cardiño said two of the male victims were 17 years old while the rest were in their 20s. Most of them claimed they were recruited in Bulacan.

He said the patrons, mostly American and Australian men, pay US$100 for the live acts that run for several minutes.

Cardiño said if the clients preferred women to perform sexual acts, the operator had taped performances by women ready for streaming.

He said they were tipped off by a 16-year-old boy recruited in Cavite who told police about it because he found the job “lewd.”

Cardiño said that although the “chatters” admitted to be “willing participants” in exchange for money, “we still consider them as victims.”

He said the victims claimed there were eight other  dens in Bulacan.

Dela Cruz was brought to the Cavite police headquarters for investigation on charges of trafficking in persons.