METROPOLICE: Man faces charges for 'molesting' girl

CEBU, Philippines - A 44-year-old man is facing charges of child abuse for allegedly molesting his four-year-old girl neighbor in Carcar City.

Prosecutor IV Anabelle Robles of the Office of Carcar City Prosecutor found sufficient evidence to hold the accused for trial.

"After a thorough and meticulous evaluation of the evidence on hand, the undersigned finds probable cause to indict respondent for a violation of Section 10, Article VI of Republic Act 7610 or other acts of abuse," the resolution read.

The suspect is a resident of Barangay Valladolid.

The FREEMAN is withholding the names of the parties to protect the identity of the minor victim.

Robles recommended P80,000 bail for the suspect's temporary liberty.

According to her affidavit, the minor alleged that at around 6 p.m. on December 2, 2014, the accused locked her up inside his house in Barangay Valladolid and then sexually molested her.

The victim's grandmother said she saw the victim go out from the house of the accused crying. The girl then went straight to her room and refused to eat.

The grandmother said she saw the lips of the minor swelling.

On December 4, 2014, when the minor saw the accused, the grandmother said the child became scared. The girl then told her grandmother that she was carried by the accused to his house and was kissed by him.

The minor said the accused locked her up after she tried to get out of the house.

In his counter-affidavit, the accused denied the allegations filed against him, claiming it was impossible for him to commit the crime because he was working.

The accused also filed a motion for reconsideration seeking for the reversal of the prosecutor's resolution to hold him for trial, but Robles denied the same. — Mylen P. Manto (FREEMAN)