Australian national Peter Scully, Filipina partner sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking

Cagayan de Oro City (CNN Philippines, June 14) — A court found Australian national Peter Gerard Scully guilty of human trafficking and rape, while his Filipino partner Carme Ann Alvarez was declared guilty of human trafficking.

Presiding Judge Jose Escobido of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 37 on Wednesday promulgated the decision to sentence Scully and Alvarez to life imprisonment and impose a fine of P5 million for one human trafficking charge.

Scully also faces an additional six to nine years of imprisonment plus P120,000 in damages for each of the  five counts of rape charges.

The six cases were among the 75 criminal offenses faced by Scully and other suspects.

Scully, the man behind the "Destruction of Daisy," a series of videos showing young girls being sexually abused and tortured, was arrested in February 2015 in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon.

He was charged with multiple cases of child abuse, kidnapping, human trafficking, voyeurism, sexual assault, and murder.

Acting Regional State Prosecutor Merlynn Uy said the promulgation was just for the first batch as 50 more cases involving other victims and co-accused are still under trial. She said the decision will not affect other cases because of the different facts.

The Justice Department in 2016 recommended the filing of criminal charges against Scully and six other suspects involved in the sexual exploitation of nine children hailing from different Philippine provinces.

CNN Philippines stringer Alwen Saliring contributed to this report.