Girl, 12, rescued in Philippines after Sydney man arrested for child abuse

The 63-year-old is now facing charges including procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia and transmitting child pornography material

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Philippine police at a change-of-command ceremony in April 2018. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:09pm, 27 Oct 2019Updated: 6:09pm, 27 Oct 2019

Police have rescued a 12-year-old girl whose abuse was allegedly live-streamed by a Sydney man on social media following a joint investigation between Australian and Philippine authorities.

The girl was freed on Friday by Philippine National Police and Australian federal police (AFP) officers at a property in the city of Rizal, about a two-hour drive from Manila. Police also arrested a 39-year-old woman as part of the raid.

The investigation into the Sydney man and possible Philippines-based offenders was sparked after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) referred the child-abuse allegations to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation in July 2019.

Last month, police in New South Wales raided the man’s home in Sydney’s North Rocks, seizing electronic devices they allege contained child abuse material.

The 63-year-old is now facing charges including procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, using a carriage service to solicit child pornography, transmitting child pornography material and possessing child abuse material.