Cops arrest man who pretended to be woman to lure Bulacan teen

BOCAUE, BULACAN — A 36-year-old man was arrested on Monday for pretending to be a school girl online to lure a 14-year-old teenage girl into an extortion scam.

Desi Arnel Villagracia from Barangay Bunducan posed as a Grade 5 pupil named Ashley Domingo over social media last year to befriend his Grade 8 victim.

The teen sent Villagracia a photograph of her clad in a sports bra which the suspect allegedly threatened to expose unless she paid him. After receiving P1,500 on December 30, 2018, Villagracia again demanded money, prompting the teen to report him to the police.

Villagracia was arrested after he received P3,500 from the girl in an 8:30 a.m. entrapment operation conducted by the Bulacan police intelligence unit in Barangay Lolomboy.

He was charged for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and for robbery and extortion. /lb