The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Sunday revealed that a Nueva Ecija court sentenced a man who victimized over 100 children in online sexual exploitation to at least 60 years in jail.

In a statement, IACAT said the Nueva Vizcaya Regional Trial Court Branch 37 issued a March 5, 2025, decision convicting Teddy Jay Mejia of violating Republic Act (RA) 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act, as amended by RA 11862, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022 and RA 11930, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act.

While a copy of the decision has not yet been released by IACAT, the council said that Mejia was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and fined P1 million for each of the three counts of violations of RA 11862, the Anti-TIP Act.

“Also, the court sentenced the accused to reclusion temporal (12 to 20 years) and a fine of P300,000 for each of the four counts of violations of RA 11930,” it added.

Mejia was deported to the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates in 2024 based on a red notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization.

The charges against Mejia stemmed from an investigation by the Regional Anti-Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Task Force II, the Women and Children Protection Center Luzon Field Unit, and the Philippine National Police Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 02, IACAT said.

In 2023, these agencies responded to reports of exploitative materials involving minors being sold online.

Further verification led to an investigation and the rescue of trafficking victims.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Mejia had exploited over 100 minors, selling explicit photos and videos on Telegram and collecting payments through online wallets.