CHR files charges vs alleged rapist of Fil-Aussie girl in Negros

The Commission on Human Rights filed statutory rape charges against a “step uncle" for the rape of an 11-year-old Filipino-Australian girl in Negros Oriental. CHR Special Investigator Jess Cañete lodged a complaint of statutory rape before Tanjay City prosecutor Elson Bustamante. Cañete accompanied the girl and her grandmother in filing the case, news site Visayan Daily Star reported Saturday. The report did not name the suspect, but described him as the live-in partner of the girl’s aunt. Cañete said he will ensure the girl and her grandmother’s safety and seek the help of concerned officials to place them in a crisis center. He said the provincial social welfare office has also pledged to help them with their basic needs. Both the grandmother and the girl are now living with friends in Dumaguete City. The girl approached the CHR only last week. She 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. 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. According to the victim’s grandmother, the victim’s aunt allegedly 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 out 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. — LBG, GMANews.TV