Authorities on Monday arrested a man suspected of raping children with disability, Tuesday.
Pasig City police have identified the suspect as the number one most wanted in the area.
According to police, the suspect molested at least five children with disability (PWD). All of the victims were his classmates in the area’s English Sign Language class.
The rape was discovered when the victim’s grandmother caught the suspect in the act last February.
The suspect later admitted to police that he had committed the crime. He said he was giving P200 to the victims so that they would not complain.
According to Police Col. Moses Villaceran of Pasig City police, the suspect was using his influence as an older brother to the victims to commit the crimes.
A victim’s mother returned home from Bahrain when she learned of the incident.
The suspect will be charged with rape.
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Rape in Children with Disability in the Philippines
The Anti-Rape Law of 1997 states rape is committed:
“1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
“a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;
“b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
“c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
“d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
Under its Article 266-B, “The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape when “the offender knew of the mental disability, emotional disorder and/or physical handicap of the offended party at the time of the commission of the crime.”
However, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death penalty in 2006 and reducing maximum punishment to life imprisonment.
The Philippines was the first Asian country to abolish the death penalty under the 1987 Constitution. Still, it was re-imposed during the administration of President Fidel Ramos to address the rising crime rate in 1993.