THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is filing rape and child abuse charges against a man who allegedly sexually molested a five-year-old girl at the evacuation center in Zamboanga City.
DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said the incident took place Thursday evening in one of the tents at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex while the victim’s parents were out.
“The father was fetching water and the mother followed him later,” Soliman said citing the children were entrusted to the care of the suspect, a distant relative of the child’s father.
Soliman said the suspect was arrested at the sports complex the next day when the incident was reported to her office.
Soliman said the child has positively identified the suspect, who even threatened the victim, at the time of the incident.
She said the victim is now under the custody of the DSWD for psycho-social therapy intervention.
She said they will pursue the filing of criminal charges against the suspect who is in the custody of the police authorities.