FOR 23 days, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her 41-year-old farmer father in Bantayan, northern Cebu while her mother was working as nanny in Manila.
Annie (real name withheld) sued Gabriel (real named withheld) before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office last Wednesday afternoon.
An investigator from Bantayan Police Station accompanied her in filing 23 counts of violating Republic Act (RA) 8353 (the Anti-Rape Law of 1997) in relation to RA 7610 (the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act) against Gabriel, a farmer who was arrested.
RA 7610 defines child abuse as maltreatment of a minor, which includes “psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment” and “any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being.”
The law punishes any person “who shall commit any other acts of child abuse, cruelty, or exploitation or to be responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the child’s development.”
In her sworn statement, Annie said she was first raped by her father last June 16.
She said she was raped again last June 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30.
She said Gabriel continued to rape her last July 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
“He tied my hands at my back with a cloth. He clasped my mouth shut and he mounted on top of me,” said Annie. “I felt pain.”
She said it took a long time for her to report to authorities her plight because she was threatened by Gabriel.
SPO1 Raul Hernaez and three other police officers said in their joint affidavit that the victim reported the abuse to them last July 10. The girl was accompanied by her brother and a barangay councilor.
They went to the victim’s house and caught Gabriel.