29-year-old transgender jailed for allegedly molesting 2-year-old niece

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A rape case is now being prepared against a 29-year-old transgender who was accused of molesting his 2-year-old niece.

Police Captain Armando Labora, chief of the Parian police station, said they have arrested the suspect this afternoon, March 3, 2020, inside the latter’s house in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel.

CDN Digital is withholding the identity of the suspect to protect the victim who is a minor.

Labora said that the 20-year-old sister of the victim, showed the result of the medical exam from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), verifying that the minor was molested.

The victim’s older sister said she grew suspicious that something was wrong with her younger sibling when she noticed her scratching her private part and would sometimes cry when doing so.

When she finally asked the victim, the latter allegedly pointed to her “Manong.” The victim calls her uncle “Manong.”

This then led to the arrest of the suspect as he was allegedly the only person whom the older sister trusted to babysit the victim whenever she goes on important errands.

The sister revealed that she decided to have the victim examined when she passed by the Barangay Hall today, March 3, 2020, and noticed that there was a free medical check-up there.

The attending physician then told her that the victim may have been violated and recommended for a proper check-up.

She then brought the victim to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center where test results showed the presence of lacerations on her genitals.

“Ingon ang doctor nahilabtan daw… na sulod sa kinaiyahan mao to akong gidala sa Sotto unya ang resulta kay positive man,” said the victim’s sister.

The suspect vehemently denied the allegations when he faced the media at the Parian Police Station where he is temporarily detained. Although later he admitted to using illegal drugs, he stressed that he could never do such a crime to his own niece.

“Nganong ako man tawun oy nga ako manang pag-umangkon. Wala paman pud ko naboang oy,” said the suspect.

However, Labora said that the suspect told investigators about a prior incident when he used his hands to remove dirt from the child’s private parts.

Labora said that they will recommend that the victim be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to undergo proper treatment and trauma assessment.

He said they will be extending all the assistance they could offer to the victim after they discovered that the little girl was only left to the care of her sister after their parents were imprisoned more than a year ago for illegal drugs. /rcg