Man in Alabama gets 160 years for child porn involving Filipino kids

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A federal judge on Sunday sentenced an Alabama man  to 160 years imprisonment for using internet applications to seek images and live transmissions of the violent sexual abuse of Filipino children as young as five years old.

Benjamin Walter, 41, of Decatur, was convicted of four counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography and one count each of receiving and distributing child pornography.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Walter used two web service provider accounts, including messenger and webcam applications, to seek women in the Philippines to sexually abuse their own children and relatives.

Walter's requests to these women, which spanned approximately three years, included directions to arrange for the gang rape of young children and to sexually assault several young children in other harmful ways.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Huntsville Field Office, which investigated the case, said that Walter sent money to the Philippines for the videos, images, and live transmissions via money remitters in $25 to $50 increments.

In addition to the live webcam shows, Walter also sent and received emails to which the senders attached images and videos of young children engaged in sex acts with adult men.

This investigation and prosecution were part of a joint FBI and Homeland Security Investigations operation that targeted the buyers and sellers of these types of webcam shows in the Philippines.

This case is part of the US Department of Justice Project Safe Childhood, A nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation. —KBK, GMA News