Police continue to hunt down a man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl right beside her sleeping mother, his live-in partner, at a boarding house in Jagna.
Senior Staff Sgt. Jonalyn Limit of the Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk of the Jagna Police Station said that a hot pursuit operation was launched against Teodorico Estimo II, 40, a native of Barangay Ubujan, Tagbilaran City immediately after the alleged rape incident at past 2 a.m. on Thursday.
According to Limit, Estimo raped the victim beside her mother who was sleeping on their bed and was under the influence of alcohol during the incident. The suspect and the victim’s mother came from a birthday party.
The alleged incident took place in a boarding house where the couple lived in Barangay Pagina, Jagna.
“Usa ra sila’g kwarto, nagtupad silang tulo. Pero nahubog man pud ang mama sa bata ug kadtong suspect. Maong wa ka mata ang mama,” Limit said.
The victim was not able to scream during the incident as the suspect choked her. She tried to wake her mother up by banging on a wooden door which was within her grasp, but to no avail as her mother was still fast asleep, the police officer added.
After the alleged rape, the victim was able to run and flee from the boarding house. She hid at a public market for about 30 minutes before walking for some two kilometers to the house of her grandmother in Barangay Can-upao, Jagna.
“Nagg-ulan to unya nag baklay ang bata padung sa Can-upao. Mga kadlaw’n to hanto ni-abot ang bata didto mga 4 a.m. Unya mi tug-an ang bata didto unya nilahos diri sa opisina mga 4:30 a.m.,” said Limit.
Staff Sgt. Jayson Laurden of the Jagna Police Station that they started to scour places where the suspect may have hidden including in Tagbilaran City and Ubay.
He said that the suspect is a noted gang member.
“Gi coordinate na ang police sa mga lungsod na posibli niyang gi adtuan. Adto pud sa iyang mga amigo kay membro man kuno ni og gang na Crips,” he added.
According to Limit, Estimo had not attempted to rape the victim prior to the incident. He and the victim’s mother only started to live together in December, 2019.
Meanwhile, the WCPD is still awaiting results of a medical examination on the victim, but Limit noted that it was likely that she was indeed raped as indicated by the blood found at the crime scene.
Authorities are now preparing to file charges against Estimo. (A. Doydora)