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Pedophile gets 20 years in US for exploiting Pinay girls


A Florida court sentenced last week a British-born American to 20 years in prison for sexual abuse of two Filipino children. The court found 64-year-old Donald Mathias guilty of subjecting the two girls, aged 11 and 12, to repeated sexual abuse while visiting the Philippines in 2007 and 2008. Mathias, who pleaded guilty to the charge December last year, was also ordered to pay $200,000 in indemnification to his victims, and to serve five additional years probation after completing his jail term. He was arrested in October in Miami last year. The girls’ mother, meanwhile, is undergoing prosecution in the Philippines for having her children sign a contract requiring them to be Mathias’ “sex slaves". The mother was paid thousands of dollars and assisted in filming Mathias while he committed the abusive acts, according to reports. UNICEF lauds decision The decision was welcomed by the United Nations Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF), the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a joint statement posted on UNICEF’s Facebook account. “Traveling child-sex offenders present a significant and growing threat in South East Asia, including the Philippines. This long sentence sends a strong message that child sexual abuse and exploitation will not be tolerated in the Philippines," UNICEF representative Vanessa Tobin said in the statement. She also commended the continuing cooperation between the Philippines and other governments around the world to stop this crime from further endangering Filipino children. For its part, the DOJ facilitated the gathering of evidence against Mathias for presentation in court in accordance with the Treaty of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Philippines and the US. “The DOJ coordinated with the witnesses and facilitated the provision of documentary evidence. Realizing the strength of the evidence against him, Mathias entered into a plea agreement," said Chief State Prosecutor Ricardo Paras in the same statement. The DOJ is now prosecuting the mother of the girls for violation of Republic Act No.9208 or the Anti-trafficking in Person Act of 2009. She is facing a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million if found guilty. Campaign vs child sex tourism In line with the campaign against child sex tourism, the DOT launched the ASEAN Regional Education Campaign in 2007 together with the ministries of tourism from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The regional campaign aims to raise awareness of child sex tourism and encourages tourists and locals to protect children in tourist destinations, the statement read. “In the Philippines, the campaign encourages people to call or text the national hotline 0919-7777377 to give information about child sexual abuse and exploitation or report suspicious behavior by adults around children," DOT director Maria Victoria Jasmin explained. Passengers disembarking from aircraft are informed of the campaign through a notice on the arrival/departure card upon entering the country. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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