ECPAT International’s Position on decision to grant bail to Italian diplomat charged with child trafficking and sex abuse in the Philippines
***FOR MEDIA RELEASE***
ECPAT International advocates for the protection of all children from sexual exploitation. It is very concerned by the crimes committed against children by travelers and tourists, visiting countries other than their own and who escape the justice system. It strongly insists that reporting and responding mechanisms to protect children from traveling sex offenders should be respected.
ECPAT International is very concerned that an alleged traveling sex offender, an Italian diplomat, was allowed to post bail and potentially escape prosecution after being charged with child abuse and trafficking in the Philippines.
Background of Case:
On 5th April 2014, Daniele Bosio, Italy’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan, was arrested and detained by Police in the Philippines for alleged child abuse and child trafficking while vacationing in a resort in Laguna Province south of Manila. The arrest came after he was reported to police to be in the company of three boys between the ages of nine and twelve. Police were alerted by members of the child rights group Bahay Tuluyan.
On May 26, the Department of Justice National Prosecution Service in Biñan City, Laguna, filed charges against Bosio for allegedly abusing minors. In a 12-page resolution, the Prosecutor's Office charged Bosio with three counts of violating the country’s child abuse law, and three counts of human trafficking.
In a ruling by Judge Teodoro Solis of the Biñan Regional Trial Court, Bosio was granted bail on July 8th, which the diplomat posted immediately, disappearing shortly thereafter.
According to a 1992 child protection law in the Philippines, any adult seen in public with an unrelated child with an age gap of at least 10 years can be reported to police. Child trafficking is a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of at least one million pesos (about £13,500). Whereas violations against child abuse are bailable, counts of human trafficking are not. If convicted, the charges carry jail terms of between six years and life.
Bosio has been suspended of his diplomatic duties in Turkmenistan, according to the provisions of Italian law. Under Italian law, Bosio could be prosecuted under Article 604 of the Italian Penal Code for crimes related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children committed abroad by an Italian citizen.
About ECPAT International: ECPAT International is a global network of organisations dedicated to ending child prostitution, child pornography/child sexual abuse materials, sexual exploitation of children through travel and tourism, and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. The ECPAT network is comprised of an International Secretariat based in Thailand, together with 80 member organisations in 74 countries. For more information, please visit: www.ecpat.net