Repulsive images from a raid of an alleged pedophile’s home in the Philippines revealing cameras, bondage cuffs and children’s underwear were released online by authorities.
David Timothy Deakin, a 53-year-old American living in the Philippines, was arrested at his home last month under suspicion of abusing children. He also allegedly sold live streams, videos, and photographs of his victims online.
Among the items retrieved from his home are collections of illicit digital content stored in stacks of hard drives, considered as one of the largest ever seized in the country. A sweaty, half-naked Deakin can be seen sitting calmly on the bed while local authorities and international law enforcement agents searched his home for evidence.
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According to Daily Mail, the police also found drug paraphernalia typically used for smoking methamphetamine.
Investigators, including FBI computer analysts, are now scouring through 30 hard drives and multiple computers to identify victims and track those overseas who purchased the images. So far, the authorities have found photos and videos of children engaging in sexual acts among the files already screened.
During the bust, two children, aged 9 and 11 years old, were rescued by police, reports the Associated Press.
Originally from Illinois, Deakin, has spent the past 17 years living in the Philippines. He has now been charged with cyber crime, child abuse, child trafficking and child pornography.
Webcam child abuse has become a growing epidemic in the Philippines, with criminals earning a profit by selling images of children to other pedophiles in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. According to the FBI, at any given moment, there are about 750,000 child predators online.
The United Nations describes “alarming growth of new forms of child sexual exploitation online.” A prime hotspot for such activity is the Philippines, where widespread poverty provides easy access to vulnerable kids.
