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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Australian, cohorts convicted of trafficking

Australian, cohorts convicted of trafficking

Published Nov 9, 2022 04:09 pm

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PNA) – An Australian and his other Filipino accomplices were sentenced to over 120 years in prison for sexual abuse and trafficking of victims from Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions.

In an interview on Monday, Nov. 7, Regional Prosecutor Merlynn Uy said the ruling was for the second batch of cases filed against Peter Scully and his Filipina girlfriend, Lovely Margallo.

Scully and Margallo were sentenced to 129 and 126 years, respectively.

The accomplices, Alexander Lao and Maria Dorothea Chia, were also sentenced to nine years imprisonment for "use of trafficked persons" and possession of child pornography.

"After five years of prosecuting the cases, finally the accused (Scully) decided to enter into a plea bargaining agreement," Uy said.

The first conviction of Scully and Carme Ann Alvarez, his then-live-in partner, came in 2018, in which the Regional Trial Court Branch 37 sentenced the pair to life imprisonment.

The first batch of six cases involved seven minors, one of whom was killed and later buried in one of the couple's rented houses in Surigao City.

"In the process of investigating (the first batch of cases), the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization), found traces (of additional information), which gave rise to the second batch (of cases filed)," Uy said.

The second batch of cases composed of 60 counts of sexual abuse and trafficking charges, which were consolidated under RTC Branch 37 here.

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