saying ♪ ♪ sorry mister i got to come home ♪ ♪ sorry mister i'm trying to come home ♪ ♪ sorry man hey i got to come home ♪ ♪ let's talk real ♪ let's be real ♪ i bet the man inside his mirror doesn't stare back ♪ ♪ break your heart when the man you call your brother be the same one that setting in motion all them undercover ♪ ♪ called my mom mother was at my graduation when i signed my record deal you was my motivation ♪ ♪ from great friends now it's no affiliation divided by the time he was facing once he told me that ♪ ♪ sorry i'm tryna come home sorry there's clicking on the

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tonight on "nightline" -- sex sells. from the dark corners of bars to the dark corners of the sex trade, we're undercover in the philippines inside the shadowy world where tourists can trade cash for young flesh. >> we're on a high stakes sting as they try to bust the texas businessman suspected of selling girls. a six month investigation reveals the shocking truth. were american dollars funding this? >> i want to see your hand? >> some of them are barely out of puberty, adolescent girls at 14. boss for less than $40. so why? >> announcer: this special

edition of "nightline," the raid, will be back in 60 seconds.

good evening. ic fresh off the thanksgiving holiday, you might already be thinking ab ing ing about your vacation, road trip with the family or ski trip. we were shocked to discover that a growing number of americans are planning far less for vacations. they travel so they can buy underaged girls cheap. tonight, we're taking another look at a six-month investigation, halfway around the globe. where americans are not only buyibuy ing but also selling underaged sex. "nightline" producer, alex waterfield, and alex marquardt went undercover in the

philippines, with the authorities. planning a high stakes raid? arthur benjamin is in a good mood. laughing, drinking. oogling the girls on the bar, which he says he owns. >> this is your life. >> pretty much. a 49-year-old american, suspected of having sex with underaged girls and selling them for sex out of this bar called crowbar. as he drinks benjamin has no idea at that very moment officials are a few yard away planning a raid that will bring his world crashing down. this is the story of arthur benjamin. we traveled to a beautiful part of the western philippines, where benjamin has been living for 25 years.

but our journey went deeper, past benjamin into the dark and disturbing world of underaged prostitution, discovering how all too easy it is to buy sex with underaged girls. >> how old are you? >> 14. >> you are 14. >> the philippines quietly emerged as a top destination for americans, not just looking to have sex. >> 15-year-olds in there i guess. >> reporter: but to sell sex as well. the americans want to come here, they perceive it is easier to operate here than in the united states. we're happy to remind them. they're sadly mistaken. >> eric mcgloughlin is investigating americans who may be committing crimes in the philippines. for the benjamin case he teamed up with a local nonprofit organization, called preda, which has been gathering evidence against benjamin for months.

[ indiscernible ] >> we want to meet benjamin and see for ourselves, what is going on inside that bar. >> red light. >> producer alex waterfield and i put on tiny hidden cameras that look like buttons. we hop on the local jeep, head down to a run down part of the town to benjamin's bar. we don't know what to expect. around a dozen young women are milling around including this one. >> what is your name? princess. popular in the bar. just 16 years old. it's not long before princess and another girl are offered to us. 1,500, pesos, under $40. mama lucy is what is called a mamasan. she manages the girls.

we decline her offer. but she calls benjamin to come meet us. >> hi. good to meet you. >> sitting at the bar -- >> reporter: within minutes the 6'6" texan tells us about his sex life and his business. a former waitress had written to his wife in california on facebook. which lead to this shocking and frank statement. >> she is saying i have underaged girls, [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. oblivious to our hidden cameras, benjamin tells hus he has a 16-year-old girlfriend who lives out back. >> tiny, dark skinned girl. needed a police to stay. place to stay. i bought a bar to do it.

>> reporter: after texting her to come over, she walks in. she is so young. that we are blurring her face to protect her identity. [ indiscernible ] >> benjamin's declaration was so stunning, the following morning we felt we had to alert special agent eric mcgloughlin. building a case against benjamin. on tape, i have had sex with underaged girls repeatedly. that's not enough. >> it is a very strong indication. we have to as investigators prove that it occurs. and the ski may be this 18-year-old girl, until december she worked at the bar. today she has come to the

nonprofit that began tracking benjamin, identified in photos, four girls who work there. who she says are underaged. including the one we met. princess. >> why did you decide to tell your story. what did you want to happen? >> i felt hopeless working in the bar she says. that my friends, especially the minors feel the same way. i wanted to tell my story and save them. >> benjamin isn't the only american capitalizing on the demand. many in the long string of bars in the philippines are owned or managed by americans. many are military veterans. it was home to a u.s. naval base for almost 50 years. providing a been to the prostitution industry.

don't get wrapped up in your head about it. >> reporter: to see how easy it is for americans to find underaged girls, we visited angeloss. 45 minutes from the bar. it takes a half an hour before we are approached by this woman who offers us not just young girls but virgins. how many different girls do you have? [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: for each one it is $30,000 or $750? how old are you? 15. >> how old are you? >> 14. >> what grade are you in? >> second. #th grad

# -- 8th grade. this is your aunt. your auntie. she loves you. >> very much. >> and -- >> reporter: that would seem disturbing. both obviously so young. and so easy for us to find them. we said no thank you and walked away. >> reporter: when we come back -- authorities decide to make the final move on arthur benjamin. >> i want to see your hands -- sit down. >> reporter: will they have enough evidence to arrest him.

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adolescents are treated like currency every day in developing countries. where the sex tourism business is booming and where international authorities closing in on the american man with a bar in the philippines where activists say underaged girls cost little more than a few cocktails. here again, abc's alex marquardt. >> i'm on the phone with arthur

benjamin. a 39-year-old texan, suspected of pimping out underaged girls from his bar in the philippines, crowbar. he has no idea right now that authorities are closing in on them. we make plans to meet up one last time before the race. over coffeen bro ein broad day he tells us how he met wiz gihi girlfriend jade. >> we met her two days ago at his bar. >> she need some one to take care of her. you know what i want. [ bleep ]. >> and this time, he tells us more about the business side of running crowbar. how with the help of his mamasan, lucy, underaged girls have worked for him as well. >> lossy has had a lot of underaged girls working for her. >> how they avoided trouble when authorities last stopped by the

bar. >> lucy showed them all the paperwork which was well in order. some creatively. just down the road at the center, father shea cullin, the irish priest who first started tracking benjamin has gotten word the raid has been given the green light. six months of investigating, have come done to this. a team of investigators working with father shea and booked a fake bachelor party to guarantee benjamin will be there. i am invited to be a guest to be inside as it goes down. and we head inside. the party quickly gets into full swing. but no benjamin. mama lucy is there. >> you organized all the girls for tonight. >> reporter: 16-year-old princess, just that week got braces. how are you?

after 45 tense minutes. bane.ma benjamin finally shows up. even he makes an appearance. american i.c.e. agents led by eric mcgloughlin, father shea, filipino police, and government social workers gathered to go over the final plan for the raid. >> they will be gone if we don't make a move there. >> after a long, chaotic meeting. >> you have a hint that the bar will be closed. time to move out. >> coming up on the left. the bars here on the left. see the sign. crowbar, that's it. get out, go.

>> reporter: benjamin looks stunned. at first he doesn't move. the girls are herded into one part of the bar. >> set down. i want to see your hand. no talking. we'll talk to you soon. >> none of the girls admit to being underaged. dentists start examining their teeth one of the easiest way to tell someone's age. benjamin tries to slip out. blocked by a filipino agent. >> we're abc new. >> that's when we finally decide to reveal our identity. >> you till us you have had underaged sex. underaged girls work in the bar. what do you say now? >> i disagree. i never had underaged girls here. i do not have sex with underaged girls. >> you have never had sex with an underaged girl. if none work here, why did you ti tell us that. >> just talk. you are bragging? >> yeah, pretty much. >> just now you showed me your girl friend who is underaged. >> i don't have a girlfriend. >> reporter: your girlfriend.

jade. she doesn't exist? >> no. >> reporter: we tell him everything is on hidden camera. 16-year-old princess cowers in the corner with the others. none turn on benjamin. what do you think of benjamin, a good man, evil man. he treats you well? >> yeah. >> reporter: not like the movies. not a hug or kiss on the cheek. doesn't go that way. a lot of times unfortunately, they view us as the enemy. because they have grown up in the environment. been here a while. trying to get them comfortable. they can talk to us. they realize we are here to help them. after an hour, the authorities feel they have enough to arrest benjamin. >> why? what did i do? there are no minors here. >> where? >> there are no minors here. okay, fine. i will go with you. i have no problem with that. >> reporter: were you surprised at his demeanor, how calm he was and denying everything?

>> no, no. we see that a lot. kind of shocked. feels very surreal right now. he will probably go to the family and wake up tomorrow and realize what happened. my world has taken a different course. and even for -- for longer. >> as benjamin waits in the van. we have one last chance to speak with him. >> six hours ago. when the evening started did you think it would end like this. >> no i thought you were a nice guy. now i find out you are a [ bleep ]. >> what do you think should happen to you? they should let me go. they should talk to me later. whefr whenever i am around. >> what will happen? >> they'll take me to manila. and it would be a pain in the [ bleep ]. >> you said, lucy was a master at getting underaged girls to work in your bar? >> bye. >> denial. >> absolutely. >> reporter: when we come back, as benjamin is driven awe to a manila jail on sus pegs picion child abuse. there is fighting over where the

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dark world where young girls are bought and sold on the cheap in the philippines. for some of the young girls the business is the only way they imagine earning a living. so what's next for them? >> reporter: with benjamin arrested, princess sits in the van with the others. do you think you will go back to working in the bar? no? you are done. >> the authorities and father shea cullin are gaugue about who take the girls. father shea has dedicated his life, saving young boys and girls, and his tenacious work that got his authorities to carry out the raid on benjamin's bar. and tonight he doesn't take any time to savor the arrest. [ indiscernible ] >> this is our work. amid the confusion. there is also anger. >> are you angry at benjamin? >> for these young women, their

livelihoods have been take any way. >> how would you provide food, save yo sell your body or starve to death? when you ask yourself the question. it is heartbreaking. >> reporter: are the authorities doing enough off to stop it? >> no, they're doing very, very little. sorry to say. there are good dedicated people. they have no budgets. no money. we have to go this on our own. >> reporter: two of the girls from crowbar were minors, including princess, who gave us permission to show her face. she is living at the father's center and telling us she wants to be a social worker when she grows up. marisol is at home with her mother and sister earning a living as a housekeeper. 16-year-old jade, benjamin's girlfriend disappeared that night. the authorities found her house behind the bar empty. as massive as this problem is, father shea remains optimistic. >> give up is not in our vocabulary. we will fight on.