SC affirms conviction of Australian who chained, exploited 2 minors

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of an Australian man and his accomplice over the sexual exploitation of two minors.

In a 20-page decision, the SC Second Division affirmed the life imprisonment sentence of Australian Peter Gerald Scully and Carme Anne Alvarez for qualified trafficking under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

“In this case, the testimonies of AAA270174 and BBB270174, as correctly appreciated by the RTC and CA, vividly described every detail of their horrifying sexual abuse and exploitation in the hands of Scully and Alvarez,” it said.

According to the SC, Alvarez lured two girls aged 9 and 12 from a mall by offering them food on September 19, 2014.

She then took them to a house to meet Scully.

Once there, Scully made them undress and took photos of them. He later chained their necks and forced them to watch a pornographic film.

Before their escape on September 23, they were repeatedly exploited by Scully and Alvarez.

On September 23,  Scully and Alvarez placed the two victims in a room and left the house. The two victims were able to escape through the unlocked kitchen door.

They were able to reach AAA270174’s father, who then brought them to the police station.

Both the regional trial court and the Court of Appeals found Scully and Alvarez guilty of qualified trafficking, prompting them to file the present appeal before the SC. 

The SC said it was proven that all the elements of the crime were present.

“Accused-appellants’ bare arguments must fail in light of the clear, consistent, and credible testimony of AAA270174 and BBB27017,” the SC said.

“It is an established doctrine that denial is an inherently weak defense, which cannot prevail over the victims’ positive and credible testimonies that the accused-appellant’s committed the crime,” it added. 

During the pre-trial, Scully and Alvarez admitted that they were the people named and charged in the case.  However, they both denied their respective aliases, the high court said.

"Additionally, the prosecution produced the certificates of live birth of the two minor victims, but the defense denied their minority, and remarked that the birth certificates, were belatedly registered.  Further, the defense denied that Scully and Alvarez were in (place shaded) during the alleged dates of crime," the decision added.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, was promulgated in November 2024 and made public in March 2025.

In November 2022, Scully was sentenced to 129 years in jail. —LDF, GMA Integrated News