Australian man handed 129 years' jail sentence in Philippines for child sexual abuse

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An Australian man called Peter Gerard Scully was handed a 129-year jail sentence in the Philippines in a child sexual abuse case that has rocked the nation. Scully, who is already serving a life sentence for rape and trafficking, was accused of child sexual abuse with victims as young as 18 months.

Overall, Scully was charged with 60 offences which included child abuse, rape, child exploitation and trafficking. His girlfriend – Lovely Margallo – was also sentenced to 126 years in prison.

"I hope this sends a very strong message to all abusers, all human traffickers, that crime really does not pay," Merlynn Barola-Uy, a regional prosecutor in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro, told AFP.

Barola-Uy told the reporters that Scully was arrested in 2015 in Malaybalay after a child’s body was found buried under the floor of his rented house. Apart from the two children, all of the other victims were adults, but the prosecutor also pointed out that it is possible that not all were identified.

"This is a big victory, not only for us prosecutors in the Department of Justice, but more importantly this is a big victory for the victim-survivors," she said after the sentence.

According to ABC News, Scully fled Australia in 2011 amid pedophilia charges and set up a cybersex business which mainly exploited teenage girls from poor families. The videos were sold to various customers around the world and some of them even contained proof of physical and sexual abuse.

"They were very graphic, they were very brutal," Barola-Uy said.

(With inputs from agencies)