Cops detain uncle who raped, killed niece in Bataan

DINALUPIHAN, BATAAN – The body of a nine-year-old girl was found in a drainage canal in this town on Tuesday, two days after her parents reported her missing.

Police said the girl was raped and killed, and her uncle was the suspect.

An autopsy report showed that the girl was sexually molested and strangled.

Police detained her 56-year-old uncle, who reportedly admitted raping and killing her niece to a lawyer of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

Authorities said the uncle was released from jail in 1999 after being convicted by a Pasig City Regional Trial Court for double rape with homicide in 1995.

A fourth grade pupil of an elementary school here, the girl was watching a television show at 7 p.m. on October 1 when her uncle asked her to buy gum from a store. When the girl left, the suspect reportedly followed her.

The minor’s parents had been looking for her until she was found lifeless in the waterway.              /kga