In July 2021, a Christian organization that has dedicated itself to fighting child sex trafficking launched an undercover operation in Olongapo, a city northwest of Manila in the Philippines. Destiny Rescue's informants had identified a woman who they said was trafficking children for sex, and set out to stop her.
Alina was one of the children targeted by the intelligence operation. She was 13 years old and had been drawn into prostitution.
"Our parents could no longer provide for us," Alina told DW. "I needed the money for our everyday living."
One night in July 2021, Alina said she and others were picked up on the street by two men who introduced themselves as Nico and Bryan. They took them to a restaurant, then to a hotel.
"After he showered, I showered, as well," Alina said. "Then it happened." She said Nico paid her 2,000 Philippine pesos, the equivalent of €34.
Nearly two weeks later, another girl named Reyna, then aged 16, said she was introduced to the same two men, along with a third one, and was taken to a hotel for sex.
The girls did not know at the time that they were the subjects of a surveillance operation, and the men they say abused them were informants carrying out undercover work for Destiny Rescue.
Both girls' names have been altered to protect their privacy.
Uncovering the suspected abuse
Destiny Rescue is one of several Christian charities with a mission to save children from sex trafficking. In 2024 alone, it raised €12 million, largely from donations in the United States and Australia.
DW's investigative unit traveled to the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand to find out how men working for a child rescue organization could allegedly use the group as cover to gain access to vulnerable minors to exploit.
We interviewed survivors, insiders, law enforcement officials and child trafficking experts and obtained confidential documents, court records and public files that reveal how rescue missions operate outside the law and have put children at risk in the name of rescue — and in at least one case provided cover for suspected abuse.
Overwhelming exploitation cases
An estimated half a million Filipino children are trapped in sex exploitation, according to a 2023 study by the University of Nottingham's Rights Lab and the International Justice Mission.
"Most issues around human trafficking have their roots in poverty," said Rebecca Nhep, a senior technical adviser at the Better Care Network, an initiative by several major child rights organizations that promotes ethical standards in dealing with vulnerable children.
"If you've got a family who's experiencing poverty or other types of crises, often exacerbated by natural disasters, displacement, other types of discrimination or marginalization, it will contribute towards trafficking," Nhep told DW. "And all of these things combine to create risks and vulnerabilities that can be exploited by traffickers who are looking to recruit children."
Because of budget constraints, Philippine law enforcement agencies often rely on child rescue groups such as Destiny Rescue to combat child trafficking in the country.
"Would you believe rescuing a child can actually cost like 200,000 pesos (€3,000)?" Maria Sheila T Portento, acting chief of the Philippine National Police's Women and Children Protection Center, told DW.
Pool party raid raises suspicions
Destiny Rescue's Olongapo operation came to a head with a dramatic raid at a luxury beachside resort on August 4, 2021. Alina and Reyna were among several girls invited to a pool party organized by Nico and Bryan.
"They said that we were just going to swim there, and that we would drink alcohol," Alina said.
Nico, who she said had paid her for sex just weeks before, was by the pool.
Then, the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided the pool party.
"They chased us since we scattered and separated. We ran away out of fear," Reyna said. "I was scared that I might go to jail and my parents would find out what happened."
With towels over their heads, the girls were taken to the local NBI office, where they were told they had been rescued — and that they had been under surveillance for months. It was then that the girls understood that Nico and Bryan had been part of the rescue mission.
The girls say they felt betrayed.
"They used us, paid us," Reyna said. "If that's their method of persuasion, to be convincing customers, it's ironic that they 'help us' but use us at the same time."
But Alina and Reyna weren't yet aware of the group behind the surveillance operation.
Behind the surveillance operation
Questions about the identity of the men were first raised by Jacob Santos, a Filipino social worker, who asked that his real name not be used for privacy reasons. He debriefed the victims when they arrived at the Preda Home for Girls, a shelter for exploited children.
"Two of the girls told me that they were sexually abused by agents," Santos told DW. "They asked me if they can also file charges against the agents."
Santos said he requested the official case files from authorities, in which he found an intelligence brief sent by Destiny Rescue to the NBI announcing the surveillance mission. It named Alina as a victim and contained details that Nico had asked her for earlier, including her name, age and address.
Seeking answers, Santos and several other Preda staff members held a meeting with a Destiny Rescue manager. Santos said the manager then called a Destiny Rescue agent, who allegedly confirmed that the abuse had happened.
"He hired people, so-called informants, to do the intelligence gathering. And that this informant confirmed, they went to a hotel and had sex with one of the girls," Santos said.
Days after the confrontation, Destiny Rescue sent a letter to the Philippine National Police, acknowledging that there had been a "breach in rescue protocol" during its Olongapo operation.
DW obtained the confidential letter, which describes an "unknown informant" who "engaged in an indecent act with a minor."
"In our own investigation, we have noted verbal confirmation of the incident, which is alleged to have taken place when the informant was confronted by a life-threatening situation," the Destiny Rescue letter said.
It is unclear what the "life-threatening situation" was. DW asked Destiny Rescue to clarify the matter, but the organization did not respond.
Confronting Destiny Rescue
In Australia, DW presented the facts of the case to Destiny Rescue Limited's chief operating officer, Geoff Harrison. He insisted that the organization was "adamant about good structure, good training, good accountability."
But, when confronted with Destiny Rescue's own confidential letter acknowledging the alleged abuse, Harrison said it appeared that the operation's "intelligence people" had recruited an informant who "did the wrong thing."
"It's entirely possible that you've got somebody who was feeding them information, and then they recruited their friend to be part of the raid," Harrison said.
"It sounds like something went wrong."
Seeking justice
Alina and Reyna filed criminal complaints against the suspected perpetrators, as well as Destiny Rescue's Philippine managers.
A prosecutor from the Philippine Department of Justice investigated the case and found two informants "probably guilty for use of a trafficked person."
Both remain at large.
In the same resolution, the prosecutor dismissed complaints against the two Destiny Rescue managers, saying: "Nothing on record was shown that they committed an overt act to contribute to the accomplishment of the crime committed by their alleged agents."
Based on this decision, Destiny Rescue publicly claimed that "allegations that Destiny Rescue was involved in the abuse of minors were resolved and dismissed" by the prosecutor.
The final thread
Only one person has been prosecuted following the Destiny Rescue operation: A 20-year-old woman called Monica was convicted of trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
DW interviewed her in a prison in Manila. She confirmed key details in the testimony of Alina and Reyna. She said Nico and Bryan had made efforts before the raid to win her trust.
"They passed by my house and gave me food, alcohol and money,” Monica told DW. "I had a suspicion they were doing something for me to get caught."
Crucially, she said Nico and Bryan presented her with marked bills during the final poolside raid, which she said she didn't take. She claims that she is innocent and never worked as a trafficker, but had been a sex worker herself.
Together, Destiny Rescue's own admissions in confidential documents, alongside the testimony of the victims and the convicted trafficker, establish that it was Destiny Rescue that ran the operation in Olongapo, where the informants are suspected of having abused underage victims of trafficking.
No justice, no peace
Reyna is now 21 years old, has a child of her own, and is finishing her studies. She said she was grateful to be removed from prostitution, but she wants action against the men, that they "be jailed, lose their jobs, get jailed so they can no longer victimize children."
Alina, now aged 17, is worried that her suspected abusers remain at large.
"I feel nervous sometimes, because they might look for us or do something to waive the case," Alina said. "I hope they get arrested so they can't abuse any more children."
