CHR probes rape of 11-year-old Fil-Aussie in Negros

Human rights investigators are now looking into the alleged rape of an 11-year-old girl of Filipino-Australian descent by her aunt's live-in partner in June. The girl, who approached the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) this week, said the incident occurred at the suspect's house in Negros Oriental province. She also said she was forced to drop an initial complaint after her assailant threatened to kill her, according to a report on the news site Visayan Daily Star. CHR special investigator Jess Cañete said he will facilitate the transfer of the victim to a CHR safehouse to ensure her safety while he conducts his investigation. He also said he will look into the girl’s allegations that the suspect is involved in the illegal drugs trade and was “friendly" with some city police personnel. The girl and her grandmother said they arrived from Negros Occidental in April and lived in a rented room with the girl's aunt and the suspect until last week, when concerned citizens rescued them and brought them to another city in Negros Oriental. According to the victim's grandmother, the victim's reportedly aunt tried to talk them out of filing charges to avoid conflicts with the suspect, who is the family breadwinner. The victim narrated that sometime in April, the man began making several sexual passes at her in the house. Sometime last June, she said she allegedly woke up to find that the man had raped her. She said she told her grandmother and aunt about it. They proceeded to the police station and to the city social welfare office where her complaint was supposedly processed. A medical examination by the city health officer, conducted days after the alleged rape, revealed that there were lacerations in the girl’s hymen. The grandmother said when she confronted the suspect, he fell on his knees and apologized to her for what he did to the girl. The grandmother admitted that for several weeks after the initial “sexual assaults" on the girl, they continued to live with the couple because they had no other choice. –VVP, GMANews.TV