A 39-year-old man was arrested for supposedly blackmailing a 16-year-old girl with a video of him allegedly raping her in Quezon Province, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) said on Friday.
The suspect – identified as ‘Noli,’ a helper for his family’s thrift shop in Tayabas City – was arrested in an entrapment operation last Wednesday night, ACG Director Brig. Gen. Wilson Asueta said in an interview in Camp Crame.
The victim, a resident of Sariaya town, met the suspect on social media earlier last September, according to Asueta.
The suspect asked her to meet him at his apartment also in the same town on Sept. 15, promising to give her P200 and ‘other gifts,’ the ACG director explained.
‘When she entered the apartment, she was threatened and raped. The child did not know she was being videotaped,’ Asueta said, speaking Filipino.
‘She was told the suspect had a gun,’ he added, later noting that police did not recover a gun from the suspect.
The victim did not immediately report the incident to the authorities, Asueta also noted.
How was P200 and ‘other gifts’ enough to lure the victim to meet the suspect? Asueta said, ‘Alam mo naman ngayon ang mga kabataan, kahit maliit na ano, basta pwede nilang magamit. Baka may mga small items na gusto din niyang bilhin kaya sa P200. Naenganyo rin siya.’
(You know kids these days, even if it’s a small amount, they’ll go for it as long as they can use it. She might have also had small items she wanted to buy for P200. She was enticed.)
According to the ACG director, the suspect resurfaced last Tuesday, when he sent the video of the victim allegedly being raped to one of her friends.
‘The victim was being forced to go back to the apartment and have sex with him, otherwise he will further spread her video,’ Asueta said in Filipino.
The friend brought this to the victim’s attention, who then asked for her mother’s help and reported it to the police, prompting the entrapment operation, Asueta explained.
The suspect was taken into the custody of the Quezon Provincial Cyber Response Team.
Asueta said the suspect was subjected to inquest proceedings for violations of Republic Act No. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act; Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code or grave coercion.
The suspect was also subjected to inquest proceedings for violations of RA No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act; and RA No. 11930 or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, Asueta noted.
The ACG director further said the ACG will also be lodging a case against the suspect for statutory rape through regular filing.
Meanwhile, according to Asueta, the victim was forwarded to the local social welfare office for assistance.