Teacher charged with abusing students in Tarlac City
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday said it filed multiple criminal charges against a public school teacher in Tarlac City accused of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse materials and committing acts of lasciviousness against two boys.
In a 15-page resolution signed by Deputy State Prosecutor Olivia Laroza-Torrevillas and Prosecution Attorney Criselda Teoxon-Yanga, the DOJ found strong prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction to indict Leoncio Benigno Thiem Tolentino.
Specifically, Tolentino was charged with online sexual exploitation of children and lascivious conduct under Republic Act (RA) Nos. 11930 and 7610, respectively; RA No. 9775 in relation to RA No. 10175; and the Revised Penal Code.
“The fear instilled in a 6-year-old child, who viewed respondent Tolentino as a trusted authority figure at school, was sufficient to compel compliance. This manipulation of power dynamics, coupled with the victim’s fear, underscores the coercive nature of respondent Tolentino’s actions and the vulnerability of the minor in the face of such authority,” the DOJ prosecutors said.
The case stemmed from an investigation that started in June 2024 when the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a US-based organization that monitors online platforms for child sexual abuse materials (CSAMs).
According to the NCMEC report, an individual using the email benleigh24@gmail.com was suspected of producing, possessing, and distributing CSAMs via Google Drive.
Authorities later identified the account holder as Tolentino, also known as “Leo” or “Benleigh Thiem,” a public school teacher in Tarlac City.
The police tracked Tolentino’s online activities and IP addresses and discovered folders in his Google Drive containing 46 video files of child sexual abuse materials, specifically involving young boys.
Further investigation revealed his use of different digital devices, including smartphones, flash drives and a laptop for storing and distributing CSAMs.
The victims, who were 13 and 6 years old at the time of the alleged abuse in 2017 and 2019, said the respondent used his position of authority as a teacher and the promise of money or food to make them comply with his demands.
One of them said he was sexually abused by Tolentino, his former math teacher, on several occasions while the other said the accused, though not his direct teacher, frequently called him to his office where inappropriate touching and kissing happened.
