Briton nabbed, teen girl rescued in Sta. Fe town

A 43-YEAR-OLD British cook was arrested while a 16-year-old girl was rescued in Barangay Talisay, Sta. Fe last Saturday night.

Police said Damian John Selfe, a native of Hampshire, United Kingdom, has been in Sta. Fe since Wednesday.

PO1 Ronnel Umaran of the Sta. Fe police precinct said they rescued the minor at MJ Square, a place comprised of eateries and restaurants in Barangay Talisay.

“They were held in San Remigio police precinct before they came here, but the girl insisted that she was not a minor,” Umaran told Cebu Daily News.

PO3 Raymon Pepito, investigator of the San Remigio police precinct, said they were informed about the presence of the minor and Selfe from their personnel station in Hagnaya wharf.

Pepito said the girl insisted that she was 19 and claimed to have been born on July 12, 1997, but the police were still doubtful.

“We let her undergo a dental test then findings showed that she was 18, so she was released with Selfe,” Pepito said.

After the 16-year-old girl insisted that she was not a minor, both of them were able to leave San Remigio police precinct, and they traveled to Sta. Fe town.

But the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT-7) was able to secure a copy of the girl’s birth certificate at the National Statistics Office (NSO). The 16-year-old girl is a native of Maripipi, Biliran.

Pepito said the two met online but police have yet to establish the relationship between Selfe and the 16-year-old girl.

As of noon yesterday, Selfe was detained at Sta. Fe police precinct.

Pepito said the Briton will undergo an inquest either today or tomorrow in Bogo City.

Pepito said charges will be filed against Selfe for violation of Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

He said the 16-year-old girl is under the custody of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) of Sta. Fe town.