WARNING: Graphic content

AUSTRALIAN paedophile Peter Gerard Scully, considered one of the world’s most depraved child traffickers and rapists, has smiled after he was sentenced to life in a Philippines court.

The former Melbourne property developer was filmed smiling as he left the Cagayan de Oro city court in the southern Philippines province of northern Mindanao.

He had just been sentenced to life in prison, along with his former girlfriend and accomplice, Carme Ann Alvarez.

The 55-year-old Australian faces up to 60 further charges for child murder, torture and abuse cases against children as young as 12 months old.

The include abuse of two young girls, who Scully allegedly made dig their own graves and filmed them being raped.

On Wednesday, Judge Jose Escobido declared Scully guilty of one count of human trafficking and five counts of rape by sexual assault of underage girls.

Acting Regional State Prosecutor Merlyn Uy said pending cases against Scully involved his former live-in partner Liezel Margallo, other accused and had different child victims.

The Philippines government had earlier considered reintroducing the death penalty for Scully, who fled fraud charges in Australia in 2011 and moved to Mindanao, where he would entice impoverished children with money and gifts.

Filippino news site Rappler reports that Scully abused Filippino children on Mindanao, filmed the crimes and sold the videos to clients in Europe.

The Philippines Justice Department reported in 2016 that Scully’s paedophile syndicate engaged in cybersex operations, using children below 12 years old, and including a one-year-old.

Authorities have 45 witnesses in the case of the two girls, Daisy and Queenie, and others.

Video of the sexual abuse was uploaded on exclusive pornography websites between 2011 and 2014, with payments collected from the viewers via money transfer.

Following the production of a shocking film of child torture and abuse, Daisy’s Destruction, police issued a global manhunt for the film’s maker.

Peter Gerard Scully was arrested at his home in the Philippines in February 2015.