Suspect arrested for allegedly raping then 17-year-old niece

A suspect who was wanted for rape and child abuse of his niece was arrested in Cavite on Tuesday after three years of hiding.

According to Emil Sumangil’s report on 24 Oras, the alleged sexual assault took place in 2017 when the victim was only 17 years old, but the suspect was only recently captured by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) because he had gone into hiding.

“Nakapag-file po ‘yung mga magulang (ng biktima) ng kaso noong April 2018 tapos nalabasan po ng warrant nitong May 2018, so yung suspect po, nagtago na ‘yan,” said Police Major Daniel Yemma, Deputy Provincial Officer of CIDG – Cavite.

(The parents of the victim filed a case in April 2018. Then the warrant of arrest was issued in May 2018. So the suspect had hidden by then.)

The CIDG added that the suspect transferred residence after the incident and applied for a job as a delivery rider when the matter appeared to cool down.

The suspect denied raping his niece.

“Hindi niya alam na may kaso siya pero warrant of arrest po ‘yan eh. Hindi naman po pwedeng sabihin na hindi niya alam,” Yemma added.

The CIDG-Cavite thanked the public for the leads they provided, noting that more or less 70-80% of their arrests have been successful because of the public's cooperation. — Giselle Ombay/DVM, GMA News