Rotterdam man arrested over child sexual abuse and livestreams in the Philippines

Rotterdam police arrested a 78-year-old man this week on suspicion of sexually abusing children in the Philippines and broadcasting the abuse online. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) said he communicated with a Filipino woman who organized the livestreams. Philippine authorities arrested her in October and freed four children from the abusive situation.

Investigators searched the Rotterdam man’s home at the end of May this year and seized equipment. The OM said the investigation showed he maintained extensive contact with a Filipino woman through WhatsApp and other channels, and paid for child sexual abuse material.

“On the suspect’s orders, children in the Philippines were sexually abused on camera, while he watched,” the OM said on Friday. Officers found footage of many child victims on the man’s devices. According to chat messages, the man had traveled to the Philippines, where the woman, in exchange for money, provided him with underage girls for sexual abuse.

Dutch police informed the Philippine authorities, who managed to locate the woman’s home. The Philippine police also identified the site where the child abuse had been filmed. In October, they discovered chats on her phone indicating that she remained in contact with the man from Rotterdam.

"The recent operation in the Philippines and the arrest of the Dutch suspect stem from close collaboration under PICACC (Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children). This partnership brings together police forces from the Netherlands, the Philippines, the UK, and Australia, along with IJM, to fight sexual abuse of children in the Philippines," the OM said in it's statement.

The man from Rotterdam will appear before the examining magistrate on Friday.