A GERMAN national was found guilty of child abuse and qualified trafficking by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cebu City, some seven years after he took photos of two nude girls.

In his 20-page decision, RTC Branch 28 Judge Jose Nathaniel Andal sentenced Thomas Michael Ruhland to life imprisonment and an additional 20 years in jail for violating Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law and RA 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

He was also ordered to pay at least P3.4 million to the two teenage girls he victimized inside a motel in Talisay City back in 2011.

In an interview, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said she is happy about Ruhland’s conviction as this could lessen operations of the international cyber-pornography syndicate he is allegedly connected with.

“So many children will be saved because of his conviction,” Magpale said.

Magpale, who chairs the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC), said Ruhland’s conviction will serve as a warning for parents not to sell their children to criminal elements.

Ruhland was arrested by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in 2011 after he took photos of two nude teenage girls in a motel in Talisay City.

One of the girls was said to have been abused by Ruhland while they were in the motel. It was one of the girls’ father who reported the matter to the NBI.

Two years ago, officials of the provincial jail in Cebu suspected that he and Eileen Ontong, who was also detained for separate cyberpornography-related offenses, were still conducting illegal operations while detained.

During a surprise inspection, jail officials found a laptop and cellular phones in Ruhland’s possession.

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