Five minors were rescued from online sexual exploitation after authorities conducted multiple rescue operations in this city.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the rescue operations are part of the bureau’s commitment to strengthen child protection and safeguard their well-being and rights across the country.

The NBI-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-HTRAD), together with the NBI-Eastern Visayas Regional Office (NBI-EVRO), conducted the said operations that led to the rescue of five minors and the arrest of one suspect.

The first case involved a 15-year-old victim. Facebook had reported at least 13 instances of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) being uploaded and distributed via Messenger. The communication were between one JP Chase, a 41-year-old male from Hartselle, Alabama, USA, and a Filipina based in Ormoc City, Leyte, who was later identified as the victim’s mother.

On August 27, 2025, NBI-HTRAD and EVRO agents conducted a rescue operation. The victim was then turned over to the Ormoc City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) for temporary care and custody.

The second case began with a report from Google and Facebook about a certain person allegedly involved in the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, including the possession, manufacture, and distribution of child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM).

On September 02, 2025, authorities conducted another rescue operation that led to the seizure of multiple mobile phones and a tablet. The minor victim positively identified herself in the CSAEM materials and positively identified her mother and father as the ones who took the sexually explicit photos and videos.

The mother was immediately placed under arrest while the four (4) rescued minor female victims, ages 3, 4, 7, and 8, were placed under the care and custody of the Ormoc City CSWDO. The father remains at large.

Appropriate charges were filed against the Subject in line with Republic Act No. 11930 or the “Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act” in relation to Section 6 of R.A. No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), R.A. No. 9208, or “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003” as amended by R.A. No. 10364 (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012) and further amended by R.A. No. 11862 (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022), and R.A. No. 7610, otherwise known as the “Child Abuse Law”.