Man Convicted for Role in Pedophile Network That Tortured and Murdered Children

Peter Scully of Australia (L), who was found guilty of rape and human trafficking in the Philippines, smokes a cigarette in Cagayan de Oro City on June 16, 2015. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

An Australian man is awaiting trial in the Philippines after allegedly helping run a pedophile network that included the production of videos in which babies and children were raped, tortured, and even murdered.

So far, Peter Scully, 55, has been convicted of one count of human trafficking and five counts of rape by sexual assault, according to a June 13 report by The Daily Mail. However, he still faces 69 charges related to the rape of a 1-year-old baby girl, and the torture of multiple toddlers.

Scully was sentenced alongside his accused partner Carme Ann Alvarez to life in prison by the court in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, for the crime of trafficking, and received an additional 6 to 9 years and 11 months for rape.

This closed a three-year case involving two of the eight children he allegedly abused, and he still faces the rest of the charges in other cities in the Philippines that include child abuse, kidnapping, voyeurism, and murder. He has been accused of raping, and then strangling, a 12-year-old girl.

According to The Daily Mail, Scully filmed children being raped and tortured, then broadcasted the videos online for European clients. The videos are known as “red rooms,” and portrayed “rape, torture and murder of multiple Filipino children” who Scully and Alvarez allegedly lured with promises of food or money. According to the report, at least one film caused prosecutors to break down in tears.

The Trump administration has been cracking down heavily on child sex abuse, including in operations that target crimes in foreign countries. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on June 12 that it arrested 2,300 suspects in a three-month operation that includes individuals who produced, distributed, or possessed child pornography, and related crimes; and included individuals who traveled to foreign countries to abuse children.