Makati: One warm December afternoon, Gary Richmond-Jones boarded a flight from Sydney to Manila with his wife and three children.
Eight days into his Philippines holiday, he downloaded encrypted messaging app Telegram to contact a stranger who had messaged him on X, formerly Twitter, advertising child abuse material and leaving a number.
“Hey, saw your Twitter. Interested. Pinay girls loli,” Richmond-Jones wrote.
The 57-year-old recently told the NSW District Court that “Pinay” referred to Filipino females and “loli” to underage girls.
Richmond-Jones is one of many Australian men fuelling the demand for online child abuse material in the Philippines. This masthead recently reported Australia is a main contributor to the trade that has left local rescue shelters full of scarred children.
Australian and Filipino …