An 11-year-old girl in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon is 6 months pregnant with the child of her own stepfather who repeatedly raped her when her mother is at work.
According to the report on ABS-CBN News, “Melissa” (not her real name) did not immediately tell her mother about what her stepfather had been doing to her but only complained of feeling weak and unwell. When her mother brought her to the hospital, she was shocked to learn that the child was pregnant.
It was then that the child told her mother about the multiple times her stepfather had raped her when her mom is at work. The mother could not believe that her partner could do such an atrocious crime to her child when they had been together for 9 years already.
PO3 Sheryl Magdaleno of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk revealed that the police are now readying the case that the suspect, only called “Dodong”, will face when apprehended. At the moment, Dodong has escaped and remains at large.
Melissa will undergo medical and psychological tests to strengthen the case against Dodong; moreover, she would also have to under counseling and psychological therapy to help her deal with the situation, especially now that she is set to become a mother at such a very young age.
If proven guilty, the suspect will be imprisoned for life.
Is Death Penalty Used in the Philippines?
Life imprisonment is the highest form of punishment in the Philippines today. In the past, persons convicted of heinous crimes were executed via lethal injection but such punishment has already been abolished although with the rise in reports of heinous crimes similar to Melissa’s case, people are calling for the revival of the capital punishment in hopes of deterring criminals from doing these reprehensible deeds.