72 prosecutors get training from US experts

SOME 72 prosecutors and investigators from Angeles City were given training by US experts in practical skills to prosecute online sexual exploitation, the United States Embassy in Manila said yesterday.

The training was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, through the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT).

In partnership  with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and the International Justice Mission (IJM), the 72 prosecutors and investigators in Clark, Angeles City underwent a three-day training from Nov. 19 to 21.

This is the fourth in a series of Prosecuting Online Sexual Exploitation (POSE) trainings which have provided participating prosecutors and investigators practical skills to effectively combat online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC).  

USDOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) legal and digital forensic experts shared best practices in using digital evidence to effectively investigate and prosecute these crimes.  

Alongside Philippine forensic examiners, OSEC prosecutors discussed the fundamentals in collection, preservation, and use of digital evidence.  

Cyber Court Judge Romeo Tagra of Marikina City discussed the legal framework governingcybercrime warrants, including the disposition of collected digital evidence in legal proceedings.

Other topics discussed included means to obtain digital evidence from other countries, plea bargaining, and thespecial handling of child victims.

The program culminated with mock trials where prosecutors, alongside investigators, built their casesagainst fictional perpetrators. Actual Metro Manila-based Cyber Court judges, including Judge Tagra, conducted the mock trials for each prosecutor-investigator team.