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[av_heading heading=’Aklan rape suspect ‘befriends victims’’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY BOY RYAN ZABAL
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KALIBO, Aklan – A 43-year-old man the police tagged a “serial rapist” had been arrested.
Vicente Fernando was having a drink near the Kalibo-Numancia Bridge when officers from the municipal police station and the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Group collared him.
Chief Inspector Terence Paul Sta. Ana, municipal police chief, said Fernando was “no different” from a “serial rapist,” who has “their own signature in the way they operate” and primarily targets minors.
According to Sta. Ana, Fernando would befriend his targets before taking them to secluded areas and sexually abusing them.
“Isang nangangalakal ng basura ang suspek (The suspect is a waste trader),” he said. “Sinasabihan niya ang mga bata na umuwi sa kanilang bahay dahil naghihintay ang mga magulang nila (He would tell the victims to go home because their parents were looking for them).”
A 10-year-old from Barangay Poblacion told the police Fernando raped her on Nov. 17 at the Medalla Milagrosa cemetery on Osmeña Avenue.
A week later, the suspect also abused a nine-year-old from Barangay Pook on Nov. 23 in Sitio Libtong, Barangay Estancia, police said.
One of the victims told the police Fernando pointed a knife at her, said Sta. Ana.
Fernando was also caught on security camera walking with an alleged victim on Mabini Street.
Charged with violating the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act, the resident of Barangay Muguing, Banga was detained in the municipal police station lockup cell here following his arrest on Nov. 24.
Sta. Ana appealed to the victims’ families to file complaints against Fernando, saying “he (Fernando) might have other victims.”
He also urged parents to warn their children against talking to or getting close with strangers. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
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