Three months after he was cleared of rape charges, an American retiree is getting even with a Talisay City councilor whom he accused of trying to destroy his reputation.
Richard Dunn yesterday asked the Ombudsman-Visayas to investigate Talisay City Councilor Doroteo Emit and ordered him to return all his possessions.
In an interview, Dunn said Emit refused to return his passport, travel documents, furniture, desktop computer, refrigerator, TV set, clothes and kitchen utensils.
“I’m already out of jail but I don’t feel free because he (Emit) is still holding my life,” said Dunn, who came to the Philippines five years ago.
He said Emit ordered his arrest two years ago after the American was accused of molesting a 21-year-old Cebuana whom he met through an online dating site.
Detention
Dunn was charged in court with serious illegal detention with rape. The case was later dismissed in September.
Judge Ma. Lynna Adviento cleared the American national of the charges due to lack of evidence.
In her ruling, the judge considered photos of the 21-year-old woman taken in Dunn’s home.
“The private complainant admitted that she was the smiling woman in some provocative pictures which were apparently taken in the residence of the accused. The sexually provocative poses in the pictures somehow cast doubt as to her alleged involuntary detention,” the judge said.
A medical examination of the woman showed no injuries in her private parts, which negated her claim of continuous sexual abuse.
“From the foregoing findings alone, a serious doubt exists on the culpability of the accused,” the judge said.
Dunn said he was framed by the Talisay councilor who was his former landlord in Talisay City.
He said he and Emit had a spat and that the councilor simply wanted to put him down.
“Imagine life behind bars. I lost my trust in this beautiful place, the Philippines. Here, I lost my dignity, rights and privileges. I was tormented,” he told Cebu Daily News.