Two Swedish men jailed for life over Philippine cybersex den

Young women and girls are often forced to work as cybersex chat girls, reports BBC. Two Swedish men, arrested in 2009, have been jailed for life for running a cybersex operation in the Philippines. A court in the southern Philippines found Bo Stefan Sederholm, 31, and Emil Andreas Solemo, 35, guilty of trafficking charges. The life sentences are unprecedented both for their severity and for the spotlight they cast on cybersex dens. These involve naked women chatting and performing sexual acts in front of webcams for internet clients. Three Filipinos were given 20-year jail sentences for helping the Swedes, who had set up the internet and payment systems, to run the business. Regional court clerk Nelison Salcedo was quoted by AFP as saying judge Jeoffre Acebido had stressed the need to protect women. "Disrespect for Filipino women and violations of our laws deserve the strongest condemnations from this court," Ms Salcedo quoted from the judge's ruling. The Swedes were arrested when police raided a commercial building in the town of Kauswagan, Mindanao, in April 2009. Police found 17 naked Filipinas in front of computer screens, some of them under-age; they were described as having been forced into performing cybersex.