ANDREA was an eight-year-old girl in a town in Zambales when her parents separated, after which her mother moved in with Christopher, who became her stepfather.
In January 2024 when she was 11, Christopher sexually abused her. She was afraid to tell anyone, lest he would hurt her and her mother.
During a counseling session with her teacher, Andrea disclosed the abuse. She was referred to the municipal social worker of Castillejos, Zambales, who brought her to the Preda Foundation’s home for abused and trafficked children.
There, she was welcomed, affirmed and empowered by undergoing Preda’s Emotional Release Therapy and found the courage to testify in court.
Christopher denied the charges, but the judge believed Andrea’s testimony. As a result, Christopher was found guilty of two counts of lascivious conduct and sentenced to a maximum of 15 years and six months in jail. There, he cannot abuse Andrea or any other children and can repent for his crime.
There are thousands of child victims of sexual, physical, verbal and psychological abuse in the Philippines and beyond. At the Preda home, there are 60 child abuse victims/survivors — from 6 to 17 years old — on average at any given time. There, they become healed and empowered, and are testifying against their abusers. They also become self-confident and determined to get justice and be free of their abusers for the rest of their lives.
The children win an average of 20 convictions every year. In 2024, they won 27 convictions, sending a strong message to society that child abuse is a heinous crime and will not be tolerated. Over the years, hundreds of child abuse victims have had their abusers convicted after Preda had healed and empowered them.
Meanwhile, there is a raging war of words in the United States against child sexual abuse committed by powerful businessmen and politicians with the release of files and emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was convicted of child sexual abuse and human trafficking on his private island home in Florida.
These files show he was in close contact with high-ranking politicians and businessmen — including, allegedly, two presidents and a now-former prince — and invited them to his home. What those documents contain could deeply embarrass some powerful people.
The US public is calling for zero tolerance of child abuse, which is prevalent in all societies. Humans are the only creatures on the planet that sexually exploit their own offspring. A number of them give in to their perverse desire for sexual gratification with children, even their own. Many are driven by child sexual abuse material available on the internet to anyone with a mobile phone, enabled by internet service providers and telecommunications companies (telcos).
They, spectacularly, are part of crimes against children and operate without moral values or conscience when they fail to block such harmful material and stop the livestreaming of child sexual abuse, as our laws demand. Internet algorithms direct and incite users to view more child-abuse images and videos that can motivate them to actually find and sexually abuse children. These are the hi-tech, modern-day criminals that commit their offenses with impunity and are seemingly protected from prosecution in the Philippines. (To be continued)/PN
