A 39-year-old resident of Baras town was apprehended by the police last week in connection with six cases of rape and sexual assault committed against a minor.
Elements of the Baras Municipal Police Station served the warrant of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 43 last Oct. 27, 2026 to the accused, who faces four counts of Qualified Rape of a Minor in violation of Article 266-A(1)(d) in relation to Art. 266-B of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act 11468, and two counts of Sexual Assault in violation of Art, 266-A(2) of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 5 (b) of Republic Axt 7610, as amended by RA 11648.
He will be held during trial of his cases as the qualified rape charge is nonbailable while that of sexual assault carries a P180,000 bail.
Under Supreme Court rules, the crime is denominated as qualified rape of a minor if the victim-survivor is below 16 years old, there is a relationship between the accused and the victim-survivor or the accused knew of the victim-survivor’s mental disability at the time of the commission of the crime.
If found guilty, the Baras resident could be meted reclusion perpetua or imprisonment from 20 to 40 years without eligibility of parole.
The Court could also award civil indemnity, moral damages and exemplary damages at the minimum amount of P150,000 each.
In Bato, the police nabbed the No. 1 Most Wanted Person in the town following the filing of three separate charges for acts of lasciviousness and child abuse before the RTC.
The 50-year-old native of barangay Carorian identified only as “Dan” was arrested by personnel of the Bato MPS together with the Catanduanes 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company last Oct. 27.
He would be brought to the Court to face trial for two counts of acts of lasciviousness with bail set at P80,000 each and another case for violation of Section 5(B) of Republic Act 7610 for lascivious conduct with a child below 18 years of age.
The penalty for acts of lasciviousness ranges from six months to as much as six years while that of RA 6610 could be anywhere from 14 years to 17 years behind bars.
Verification made by the police using the Investigation Solution Automatic Verification (ISAV) System showed that the suspect has been charged with rape which resulted in his conviction for a lower offense after plea bargaining
He was also charged with violations of RA 7610 while a similar case for acts of lasciviousness and child abuse is still pending before the Court.