Man nabbed for kidnap, rape of German’s wife

BACOLOD CITY — A string of criminal charges was filed against a man accused of abducting and repeatedly raping the wife of a German national whom he was allegedly obsessed with.

Gilbert Escuadro, 34, was charged with kidnapping, serious illegal detention and multiple rape before the prosecutor’s office in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

The complaint was filed by the National Bureau of Investigation on Thursday, a day after its agents rescued the woman from the hotel room and arrested Escuadro.

Escuadro, now locked up at the NBI Bacolod detention cell, denied he had kidnapped, raped and beaten up the woman, whose name was withheld. “We were live-in partners for two years. Would you call our having sex while living together rape?” he asked.

Ferdinand Lavin, NBI Bacolod Chief, said the woman appeared badly beaten when they rescued her from a room at Skyland Hotel on Wednesday afternoon.

Lavin said the woman had bruises on her arms, lips and head. The victim, who owns a buy and sell, was allegedly also repeatedly raped by Escuadro.

“We were lucky to find her alive,” Lavin said.

He said an employee of the woman reported to the NBI that Escuadro barged into the victim’s home at about 6 p.m. on July 18 and, at gunpoint, forced her to go with him.

He said they validated the request and found out that it was indeed a kidnapping and not just a domestic affair.

The NBI finally traced the woman’s whereabouts to a hotel room where she was later rescued. Escuadro was then arrested. /INQUIRER