The Supreme Court en banc upheld the conviction of a child pornographer, sending a resolute message about the severe global threat posed by child pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation facilitated through the internet.

In a ruling penned by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, the SC rejected the appeal of Luisa Pineda for a reversal of previous rulings of the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals finding her guilty of charges of child pornography using a computer system.

The case stemmed from a tip provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division in connection with Pineda’s alleged child pornography operations.

Following a surveillance, the PNP served a search warrant on the residence of Pineda, with police operatives incriminating evidence, including a computer set and a cellphone containing nude photos and videos of AAA262941, Pineda’s six-year-old niece, was discovered.

Furthermore, the police officers rescued three minors, anonymously identified only as AAA262941, CCC, and DDD, who were then entrusted to the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

AAA262941 recounted to probers that she had been entrusted to Pineda by her parents who separated. She disclosed distressing details of being coerced by Pineda to expose herself in front of a webcam to an unidentified older man, who witnessed her private moments via a computer monitor. Pineda also took explicit pictures and videos of AAA262941 on separate occasions, instructing her to touch herself inappropriately in front of a computer screen.

Both the RTC and the CA found Pineda guilty of violating Sections 4(a), (b), and (c) of Republic Act No. (RA) 9775, also known as the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, in conjunction with Section 4(c)(2) of RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

On appeal, Pineda raised various issues questioning her conviction by the lower courts.

The SC pointed out that despite the absence of a saving clause, it was determined that the reenactment of prohibited acts considered as child pornography under RA 11930 demonstrated the legislative intent to preserve the state's authority to prosecute and punish offenses under the repealed RA 9775.

Hence, the courts maintained jurisdiction over pending criminal cases, including Pineda's, involving violations committed before the repeal of RA 9775.

Ultimately, the Court found that all elements of child pornography under RA 9775 were present in Pineda’s case, solidifying her conviction.

The High Court noted that

AAA262941 was only six years old at the time of the incident and that there is enough evidence to determine that Pineda ordered the child to remove her clothes and stand naked while touching her genitalia in front of a computer exposing her private parts to male customers watching online,

The SC magistrates said Pineda committed violations of RA 9775 when evidence positively pointed to the fact that she “persuaded, induced and coerced” her minor niece to be photographed in the nude and later sold the photos for financial gain.

Pineda was ordered to suffer a penalty of life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of PHP2 million. She was also ordered to pay the victim PHP300,000 in civil damages.