A notorious pedophile, already serving a life sentence in the Philippines, has been sentenced to an additional 129 years – for filming himself raping impoverished children, including a baby and a girl, who were found buried beneath his home.
Jailed Australian Peter Gerard Scully, 59, was sentenced this month to 126 years in prison along with his Filipino girlfriend Lovely Margallo, according to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Two others who helped them got nine years each.
Prosecutors detailed how Scully moved to the Philippines in 2011 to avoid cheating allegations in his home country — and then began filming himself raping children to sell to sick people online.
The victims included an 18-month-old baby and a girl whose body was found buried under the floor of Scully’s home, prosecutor Merlynn Barola-Uy told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Two of his victims – cousins aged 10 and 11 – previously told The Sydney Morning Herald how they were chained for five days and forced to dig their own graves while being repeatedly raped on camera.
They eventually escaped, leading to Scully’s arrest in 2015 and the solving of his heinous crimes, including the girl’s buried body, who appeared to have been raped and strangled, the reports said.
Scully had laughed and smiled in previous court appearances after his initial arrest in 2015. STR/AFP via Getty Images
Scully’s Filipino friend, Lovely Margallo, was also sentenced to 126 years in prison for her role in his on-camera crimes.
His videos, which he has reportedly sold to crooks in Germany, Brazil and the US, showed Scully and his girlfriend committing “extreme types of abuse,” Barola-Uy told AFP.
“They were very graphic, they were very brutal,” she said.
Anti-trafficking agent Eric Nuqui had previously said the videos showed “a sort of systematic torture of children to the point of death.”
Scully faced so many charges that they were split into two groups. He was sentenced to life in prison for the first sentence in 2018 – laughing and joking in court. Another former girlfriend, Carme Ann Alvarez, also got life for the initial crimes.
The Australian pedophile was already serving a life sentence when he received the additional 129-year sentence for further child sex crimes. STR/AFP via Getty Images
Scully was then sentenced to an additional 129 years in prison on November 3 after settling the final 60 charges, including human trafficking, child pornography, child abuse and rape. None of the charges appeared to directly relate to the killing of the battered girl, whose body was found beneath his home.
Prosecutors said the victims and their families viewed the deal as a “sweet victory.”
“They all want to end this dark phase in their lives and move on,” said Barola-Uy.
Two locals – including a cab driver accused of trafficking girls for Scully – have been sentenced to nine years in prison. “They pleaded guilty to the charges so they could receive reduced sentences,” Barola-Uy told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Victims and their families regard the latest verdict as a “sweet victory,” local officials said via Getty Images.STR/AFP
“I hope this sends a very strong message to all perpetrators, all traffickers, that crime really doesn’t pay,” she told AFP of the long sentences.
Scully is currently being held at Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Panabo City.