Tanod chief faces child abuse raps

CEBU - The chief tanod of barangay Lorega was indicted for child abuse after he was accused of sexually molesting and eventually impregnating a 16-year-old neighbor.

Cebu City prosecutor Nicolas Sellon approved the filing of the case against Rolando Maloloy-on for violation of Article VI, Section 10 of Republic Act 7610 otherwise known as the Child Abuse Law and set his bail at P80,000.

Maloloy-on, who was also the former barangay treasurer of Lorega, was accused of seducing and sexually molesting the minor who reportedly gave birth to a baby girl last December after having been impregnated by Maloloy-on in March 2007.

The victim’s aunt was the one who filed the complaint before the prosecutor’s office against Maloloy-on on behalf of the victim.

According to the complainant, her niece has been seduced by Maloloy-on since 2004 up to the present. In fact, she claimed that her niece has had an abortion twice allegedly upon the initiative of Maloloy-on to keep his affair with the victim secret from his wife.

Maloloy-on denied the allegations claiming that it was fabricated by the complainant in retaliation for his active campaign against illegal activities in the barangay.

Maloloy-on said he was ordered by the barangay captain to assist in the peace and order function even if he was then the barangay treasurer. To support his claim, he presented the affidavits of the victim and her mother.

But the complainant said that the victim and her mother were threatened with harm if they did not issue the affidavit. Investigating prosecutor Patrick Osorio gave credence to the complainant’s claim and recommended that the case be elevated to court. — Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)