A South African has been accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in a Cebu Hotel. Ashley Russel Joseph, aged 49 from Cape Town, is accused of luring the girl by offering her a shopping spree.
Sheryl Guanco, of the city’s Women and Children Protection Desk, said: “They met in Facebook and Joseph went to the victim’s house in Sawang Calero last Sunday to invite her to shop in a mall. Her aunt tried to stop her from going but the victim went with Joseph.”
When the girl, who has not been named, failed to return on Monday, her aunt became worried for her safety.
The aunt made enquiries with some trike drivers who had seen the taxi, but could not remember the company’s name.
She then went to check the barangay’s close-circuit television camera and found clear footage of the vehicle.
After tracking down the taxi company’s office, she spoke with the driver, who told her the name of the hotel where Joseph had been dropped off with her niece.
With this information she went to local police, who arrested Joseph at 5.30pm on Monday.
Girl had lacerations
Ms Guanco described the rescue to the SunStar. “When we arrived together with the social worker, the victim hugged her and cried,” she said. “She said she doesn’t want to be with the foreigner anymore.
“That’s when we brought her to the pink room for physical and psychological exams and we found out that she had lacerations.”
The police investigation suggested that the girl had been raped four times. Before arriving at the hotel, Joseph had bought her a dress and jeans at a shopping mall.
Joseph is now behind bars at the Fuente Police Station while charges against him are prepared.