Rape charges filed against Chappy cab driver for allegedly assaulting girl in Carcar

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Rape charges have been filed against a 22-year-old Chappy cab driver, who is accused of  allegedly raping a 14-year-old female passenger and a student, in a grassy area early in the morning on Saturday, August 26, 2023.

The alleged rape occurred at around 1:00 a.m. in a grassy land in Barangay Poblacion 1, Carcar City, Cebu.

Police identified the suspect as John Fritz Alesna Terogo, 22, a Chappy cab driver and a resident of Sitio Sierbas in Barangay Poblacion 1.

READ: Rape with homicide raps filed against suspect in killing of 17-year-old girl in Toledo City

The victim was a 14-year-old girl who is a Grade 9 student and a resident of the barangay.

Initial investigation of personnel from the Carcar City Police Station said that the victim was crying in front of the Carcar City Hall early in the morning after she ran away from home.

The girl allegedly left home upset because her father scolded her on the day of the incident. 

READ: Toledo police chief: We are convinced we got the suspect in killing of 17-year-old girl

Police Lieutenant Colonel Pedy G. Noval V, chief of Carcar City Police Station, told CDN Digital in a phone interview, that the victim and her parents reported the alleged rape on the same day it happened.

He said that the Chappy cab driver allegedly passed by the minor and convinced her to go inside his cab promising that he would take her home.

However, the driver allegedly took her to a grassy area instead in Upper Cogon and raped her there, said Noval.

READ: 17 year-old girl found half naked, dead in Toledo City, Cebu

The victim was subjected to a medical examination at the Pink room in Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital on Saturday evening, August 26, 2023.

The alleged suspect attempted to escape but was pointed out by the victim and arrested by police. 

Noval said that the police recovered a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from a nearby convenience store which showed the victim going inside Terogo’s cab at the time of the incident.

READ: Mother of 17-year-old girl, who was found dead in Toledo City, cries for justice

He also said that police had filed a rape charge against the alleged suspect, with the victim’s parents as the complainants, at the Toledo City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. 

Terogo was detained at the Carcar City Police Station, according to Noval.

Carcar City is a fifth-class component city located approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Cebu City.

ALSO READ: PNP: NCR’s most wanted criminal facing a rape case nabbed in Antipolo

/dbs