CAINTA, Rizal – A 40-year-old jobless man was arrested for allegedly molesting and battering a nine-year-old girl who was found almost dead under a bridge in this town on Feb. 25.
A report obtained from Rizal Police Provincial Office director Senior Supt. Lou Frias Evangelista revealed that the suspect, Pepito Vidal Tagal, was arrested by the Cainta police the other night at his residence in Project 4, Quezon City.
The victim, a Grade 3 student and a resident of Taytay, remains confined in a hospital as a result of the injuries she sustained.
She was found under the bridge on Ortigas Ave. Extension by a passerby, gasping for breath, tied with a big ribbon around her neck and hands, and had a bleeding ear.
Police said the victim was rushed to the hospital and was later found to have sustained head injury and bore signs of sexual abuse. She even vomited blood while she was being treated in the hospital.
Follow-up operatives traced the suspect at his residence in Quezon City with the help of the Quezon City Police District Cubao police station.
Police said the suspect claimed that prior to molesting the girl after he brought her under the bridge, he had a pot session with the girl’s parents.
It was learned that the suspect is known in his neighborhood as a drug user. With the suspect’s statement, the police are also looking at filing appropriate charges against him and the victim’s parents. (Nel B. Andrade)