Police are hunting down a Badjao vendor who allegedly raped a 22-year-old Russian tourist in Panglao earlier this week.
A robbery with rape charge was filed before the Bohol Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday against the suspect who has been identified as Cadel Caluman, said Senior Staff Sgt. Vicky Villaber of the Panglao police’s Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk.
According to Villaber, the suspect remained at large after the alleged rape incident in Barangay Libaong on Tuesday.
Caluman, a married resident of Barangay Totolan in Dauis, was no longer at his home when police conducted a hot pursuit operation against him immediately after the victim reported the incident to authorities.
“Gi hot pursuit nila ang suspect, nakastorya pa nila ang asawa pero wa na diha ang suspect,” Villaber said.
Villaber earlier said that Caluman who was selling native accessories at a beach in Barangay Libaong offered to guide the victim along the shore but he then allegedly led her to a secluded area where he choked her until she fell unconscious.
She regained consciousness about an hour later without her shorts and underwear. She sought help from passersby in the area who in turn alerted the police.
The victim was then brought to the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City for a medical examination.
Results are still awaited to determine if she was indeed raped.
The victim arrived in Bohol on Sunday last week. She was travelling alone, said Villaber. (A. Doydora)