A 35-year-old man was arrested in an entrapment operation by the Philippine National Police's Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) on Thursday, Oct. 7, for allegedly sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl he met through the popular mobile game "Mobile Legends."
The PNP-ACG identified the suspect as Estelito Piolino Gibaga Jr. whose in-game name (IGN) is "Steel Gibaga."
Police Lt. Michael Bernardo, officer-in-charge of Quezon City District Anti-Cybercrime Team (QCDACT), said Gibaga was apprehended inside a motel at West Point St., E. Rodriguez, District III, Quezon City around 4:30 p.m.
Accordingly, Gibaga met the victim — a Grade 9 student — sometime in August through a public chat of Mobile Legends where both of them have an account.
The victim, a Top 1 student in her class, then agreed to continue conversing with the suspect through different messaging applications like Snapchat and Facebook Messenger until they developed a "romantic relationship," the police said.
During this time, the suspect allegedly sent to the victim obscene photos and asked her to do the same.
The mother of the victim discovered the conversation between the two on Sept. 6 so they reported the incident to the police.
"This is when the minor admitted to her that her daughter was being corrupted by the suspect into doing obscene things," the PNP-ACG said.
An entrapment operation was then hatched by the police when the daughter informer her mother that the suspect called for a meet-up to watch a movie in Gateway Cinema.
"When the suspect and the victim met at the Gateway entrance, they went to McDonald’s to take out snacks and headed to Guess Hotel. After entering the room, we lost no time in apprehending the suspect,” Bernardo said.
Police Brig. Gen. Joel Doria, director of PNP-ACG, urged parents to keep track of their children's online activities so as to avoid them from being victimized by criminals like sexual predators.
"Let this case be an eye-opener to all parents out there. Be mindful of the online activities that your children are engaged in. Sexual predators are everywhere even on online games," Doria said.
Gibaga will face criminal charges for violation of Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act), RA 9775 (Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009), and Article 286 (Grave Coercion) of Revised Penal Code all in relation to RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
He was placed under the custody of the Quezon City District Anti-Cybercrime Group for booking procedures prior to Inquest Proceedings.