Scavenger accused of raping 7-year-old

CEBU, Philippines - A 33-year-old scavenger was arrested after he allegedly raped a seven-year-old neighbor inside his house in sitio Villagonzalo, Barangay Tejero, Cebu City yesterday morning.

Melchor Reyes was arrested a few hours after he reportedly raped the girl, whom he was supposed to guard.

PO3 Mary Grace Salise of the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Waterfront Police Station said that last Thursday evening, the girl’s mother left her to the Rosales family as she will be working again.

This is reportedly not the first time she left her daughter to her neighbor’s care while she was away for work.

“Ang inahan sa bata dako na sad ang pagsalig sa iyang silingan, sood na sad niya maong iyang gibilin didto,” Salise said. (The mother is close to her neighbor and trusts them.)

Yesterday morning, Rosales’ wife went out for a while including their children, which gave the suspect the opportunity to sexually abuse the victim. There were discharges in the girl’s underwear, Salise said.

Yesterday morning, the girl’s mother retrieved her back and the girl complained that her genitals was aching. It was then that the girl reportedly confessed what Rosales did to her.

The girl’s mother immediately sought the barangay’s help, which then called for the police.

The girl was submitted to a medical check up at the pink room of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and it was found out that she was indeed raped.

The girl was in deep trauma up until now, said Salise.

The suspected rapist, when sought for his comment, strongly denied the accusation, saying he could not possibly do this to the victim.

He said that aside from having a daughter, he considers the victim as his own child so he would never do such thing to her.

The suspect believed that the girl’s mother bears a grudge against him so that she weaved stories about him.

The suspect, who is now detained at the police station detention cell, will face charges for statutory rape and child abuse. —/JPM (FREEMAN)