It’s unthinkable the horrors Attorney Janet Francisco may have seen as the part of her job with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Attorney Francisco heads the Bureau’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division that investigates and prosecutes trafficking in persons and has witnessed some of the worst cases of abuse, particularly concerning children. This has not deterred her from pursuing the worst perpetrators – Attorney Francisco and her team, working with other law enforcement agencies, are relentless in the pursuit of offenders and protecting victims from such crimes.
In July 2020, Attorney Francisco was presented with an Australian Federal Police Commissioner’s Group Citation for Conspicuous Conduct.
This citation was in recognition of Attorney Francisco’s ‘outstanding dedication and commitment to duty’ for her role in a joint multi-jurisdictional operation that resulted in dismantling an international organised paedophile syndicate and the arrest of one of Australia’s worst known sex offenders in the Philippines, Peter Scully.
Attorney Francisco is the first Filipino official to receive such a recognition.
In March 2015, Australian Peter Scully was arrested in the Philippines and charged by the NBI and Philippine National Police (PNP) with 75 child exploitation and abuse related offences. Peter Scully has been convicted of six of these offences, sentenced to a term of life imprisonment and is on trial in Cagayan de Oro for the remaining 69 offences.
“The outcome of this investigation demonstrates the close cooperation between the Australian Federal Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police and our foreign law enforcement partners, combining capabilities to drive a collaborative response to counter child exploitation, bringing perpetrators to justice irrespective of their location, and protecting children. The actions of Attorney Francisco and all law enforcement officers involved in this multi-jurisdictional investigative effort demonstrates outstanding dedication to duty in circumstances demanding tenacity of the highest order,” Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins said.
Attorney Francisco, said of the Australian Federal Police citation, “I am deeply honored and grateful for this recognition of the highest order from Australian Federal Police. The success of Peter Scully’s investigation could not have been achieved without the enormous support from the Australian Federal Police, Dutch Police, Brazilian Police, German Police, RCMP, Crimes against Children TWG of the INTERPOL and agencies in the Philippines. Peter Scully’s case awakens public interest on this crime type. Now more than ever, reports from concerned citizens are coming our way. To address the increasing number of online sexual exploitation of children cases, the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICCAC) was established in 2019. With PICCAC, work is easier for us and friendship is blossoming among partner agencies.”
The Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC) was established in partnership between the NBI, PNP, Australian Federal Police, United Kingdom National Crime Agency and the International Justice Mission, as a collective global law enforcement effort to combat child abuse. The PICACC has yielded significant results since its inception in February 2019. Perpetrators operating in the Philippines and abroad have been disrupted and child victims of online sexual exploitation have been rescued and removed from harm.
The Australian Federal Police and National Bureau of Investigation work in close partnership cooperating on a range of transnational criminal threats impacting both countries and across the region.
Australia recognises that paedophiles, including some Australian, continue to prey on Filipino children via the internet.
We will continue to support Philippine law enforcement capability, to ensure Filipino children are protected, perpetrators are arrested, and the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre continues to evolve into a regional centre of excellence for countering child exploitation.
