Moms arrested in Davao’s first child cybersex case

By TYRONE A. VELEZ
Davao Today

DAVAO CITY – April Lyn Sinasap was curious.

A mother of two daughters and married to a house painter, April saw how her friend was earning from chatting through the Piso-Net, a small Internet kiosk where one pays a peso for five-minute Internet access.

“I have been using Piso-Net for a time, but I wonder how come she’s earning money from it and I am not,” she told Davao Today.

Then one day her friend gave her a chat site, and a name of a foreigner, and told her, “Dako siya og hatag (He gives a lot of money)”.

After linking up online with the foreigner, a middle-aged American, April began a spiral towards cybersex that drew her two daughters and five nieces—all minors– as well as her sister-in-law, Kristine.

‘He wanted more’

April said her transaction began last September, with just her and her client who would ask her to perform acts such as stripping naked and get paid for doing his request.

But her client wanted more.

“He began to ask for children,” she told Davao Today. “Then I thought about my two daughters. I was afraid of doing it but I gave in.”

April then involved her two daughters, aged two and five, in their “shows” in her house at Bucana, along Times Beach in Ecoland while her husband was away.

But as the client kept asking for more, April dragged her sister-in-law Kristine Abaro-Sinasap, aged 30, and Kristine’s daughters aged nine and ten, and then three other teenage nieces to her modus operandi.

Suspicious

Neighbors started suspecting when April will go out with her daughters and come home with loads of grocery or new dresses. They wondered where April got money to buy those goods especially at SM Mall.

The suspicions led to a tip to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), who then mobilized units to stage a four-month long surveillance on April and cyber patrolling.

The Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group head Crisle Cainong said what pinned April down was a receipt thrown inside a mall where she transacted the money she received from her client.

On February 15, the CIDG Women and Children Division and ACG through a search warrant raided April’s house and found April, Kristine and all minors in the act of performing lewd acts.

The children and teenagers were all taken custody by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Multiple charges

The Sinasaps are facing multiple charges on violation of Republic Act 9975 (Act Defining the Crime of Child Pornography), RA 9208 (Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2003) and RA 7610 (Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act).

CIDG Regional Chief Superintendent Joel Pernito said April and Kristine may face life imprisonment if convicted and would pay a fine of P 2 million to P 5 million.

Pernito added that their offense is non-bailable since their victims were minors.

CIDG Women and Children Division head inspector Doreen Mauricio said they uncovered more details on April’s modus from interviews with the children.

Mauricio said the children told them they did these “shows” up to nine to ten times a month, sometimes one week straight with sessions lasting up to two hours.

“In these shows, the client call them out and they will perform whatever the client tells them to do while he pleasures himself,” said Mauricio.

Each child earned P1,000 per show, according to Mauricio.

Regrets

Pernito said this is the first cybersex case in Davao involving minors.

He urged community members to learn from this incident.

“The community must learn of the effects of child pornography. In this case, poverty that drove these mothers to perform such acts, but “is never a reason for a person to commit such act.”

Jeanette Ampog, executive director of the women and children protection NGO Talikala, said it is both the parents and the community’s responsibility to protect the children.

“The parents were not that conscious of their responsibilities to protect children. In fact, they exploited the children and should be held liable. The community must participate in protecting children by reporting cases,” Ampog said

April said “I was lured by fast money.”

“But I regret that I brought this to my children,” she said. (Tyrone Velez/davaotoday.com)