CDN Digital
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A habal-habal driver from Toledo City, Cebu is accused of attempting to rape a woman he brought to a lodging house on the early hours of Wednesday, November 6.
The alleged incident happened at around 3:00 a.m. at a lodging house in the city.
Gierecel Oga-ob Esconde alias “Jerry” was taken into custody for allegedly trying to rape a 32-year-old woman, who worked as a service crew of a pizza restaurant.
Esconde, 45, is a habal-habal driver and a resident of Purok 11, Bunga in Toledo City.
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Authorities said that the victim stated that Esconde fetched her from her house at around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The two headed to a nearby convenience store and had a drinking session.
After a while, the woman asked Esconde to take her back home on his motorcycle.
The suspect, however, sped up and purposely went to a different direction from the victim’s house.
When the victim sensed that they were heading to a lodging house, she discreetly sent a message to her friends asking for help.
Upon their arrival, Esconde allegedly brought her to a room and immediately began removing his clothes.
The victim narrated to police that Esconde allegedly kissed her on the lips, groped her body, and forcefully took off the shorts she was wearing.
Despite her resistance and attempts to push him off, the suspect was not affected and tried to violate the woman.
Fortunately, Esconde was stopped by an unexpected knock on the door. The woman then hurriedly stood up to open the door where two of her friends were waiting.
Esconde then immediately ran away to escape. Meanwhile, the victim and her friends headed to the police station to report the incident.
The suspect was apprehended through a hot-pursuit operation at around 7:30 a.m. on the same day.
As of this writing, Esconde is detained at the custodial facility of the Toledo City Police Station while authorities are preparing to file charges of attempted rape against him.
Toledo City is a 3rd class component city of the Province of Cebu. It is located some 50 kilometers west of Cebu City.