Salon owner charged with rape

CEBU, Philippines — An owner of a beauty parlor was charged with two counts of sexual assault and three counts of acts of lasciviousness before the court for allegedly molesting a minor.

The cases stemmed from the complaint of a 12-year-old boy who was allegedly sexually abused by the owner, his neighbor, since he was circumcised at the age of 8.

The FREEMAN is withholding the names of the parties, who are both residents of Barangay Labangon in Cebu City, involved due to the sensitive nature of the case.

The sexual abuse lasted for three years, the minor said in his sworn statement.

It only stopped, he said, after they sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation.

The minor said he went to the house of the accused to ask for a wireless internet (Wi-Fi) access. But the accused sexually abused him instead.

The incident happened again, he said.

He said he could no longer remember how many times the accused sexually abused him, adding it could be more than 10 times.

Every after the incident, he said, the accused will give him P20 to P50.

The minor said he did not tell his mother about the abuse because of fear of being scolded.

But the mother was informed by their helper, resulting in the filing of rape charges against the parlor owner.

Prosecutor III Noel Cellona directed accused to submit his counter-affidavit, but failed.

“Wherefore, finding probable cause, the undersigned is recommending for two counts of violation of RA 8353-sexual assault and three counts of acts of lasciviousness against the respondent before the Regional Trial Court,” read the resolution.

Cellona recommended P120,000 bail for each count of rape (sexual assault) and P180,000 for each count of acts of lasciviousness in relation to child abuse. (FREEMAN)