Police rescue men and women from Cebu cybersex den

Poverty drove seven victims—four men and three women—to degrade themselves in front of web cameras of two suspected cybersex dens allegedly operated by a Dutch in the first-class northern town of Consolacion raided by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Police filed on Friday before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office human trafficking charges against Dutch national Eric Maurice Fons and his alleged manager, Rauline Villacastin, who reportedly eluded arrest when authorities swooped on the two suspected cybersex dens rescuing the seven victims.

“I was hesitant to do the work. But because of the dire need to earn a living to support my family, I forced myself to do the job,” one of the male victims said in his affidavit.

He claimed he was promised to have a salary of P15,000 every 15 days but was only paid between P1,000 and P2,000 for his “performance” at least thrice a week and about four hours a day. His “job” included exposing his private parts, masturbating and performing sexual intercourse in front of the webcam.

One of the female victims also said she was forced to take on the job because of poverty. All of them were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Armed with a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 15 Judge Samuel Malazarte, Senior Inspector Ricky Naron of CIDG said they raided the apartments rented by Fons in Barangay Poblacion following tips from a concerned citizen about the alleged illegal activities.

Police said two women were caught in the act performing lewd acts in front of a webcam and among the items seized in the raid were five desktop computers with complete accessories, one laptop computer, several sex toys and assorted documents.

By Junex Q. Doronio