The suspects, one a first year high school student, two grade five and one grade three pupils, denied raping the girl but admitted only "fingering" the victim.
Last Sunday, at around 2 p.m., the girl was reportedly invited by the boys, all her neighbors, to play with them at a vacant lot in Sitio Gulayan, Barangay Catmon, Malabon.
The victim said that while they were playing, the boys, all of whom she called kuya, convinced her to lie on the ground where they allegedly took turns abusing her.
The girl’s mother said she learned of her ordeal only the other day through her nephew. –Pete Laude