Young suspect in child’s rape slay taken into custody

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Authorities here have taken into custody a 12-year-old boy, who they say was the main suspect in the rapeslay of a five-year-old girl in a town in Misamis Oriental last week.

Sr. Insp. Ron Baba, Gitagum police chief, said that, based on testimonies of witnesses, the boy, who was a distant relative of the victim, was the last person seen with the girl before she went missing in Barangay Cogon in Gitagum town.

Baba said the suspect is now under police custody and will still appear in court to face the charges. It will be up to the judge to decide when he will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for rehabilitation.

Under interrogation, the suspect was inconsistent with his statements, Baba said.

This was confirmed by Antonio Palasol Jr., Cogon barangay chairman, who led a group of village officials in searching for the victim on Wednesday afternoon.

Palasol said they took the suspect with them to act as guide but led them to a wrong location twice.

Eventually, the perpetrator pointed them to a secluded area where the victim was found covered in grass and twigs. She was still wearing her clothes when found.

Based on the report of the Scene of the Crime Operatives, Baba said the victim may have been raped and then strangled to death.

Gina Tabios, the girl’s grandmother, said the victim was supposed to come straight home from school, but did not.

Tabios said the suspect admitted he was with the victim, but claimed that she had gone ahead after eating mangoes with him.

Tabios, confirming the statement of the Gitagum police and Palasol, said the suspect was involved in a number of thefts in Cogon.