Married man charged with raping girl he met via Facebook

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A married man wound up in jail instead of a soft bed in a hotel room which he tried to arrange for a second tryst with a teenage girl he is accused of raping after making her acquaintance through Facebook, police said Tuesday.

Police said Arnel Pascual, 36, was arrested in an entrapment operation set up by members of a local community watch in Quezon City last Sunday after the 15-year-old girl complained she had been previously raped by the man.

According to Supt. Eleazar Matta of the Batasan police station, Pascual got acquainted with the girl on Facebook last February 14 when he identified himself as one David Mendoza to entice her to meet him.

Matta said that although the girl, a high school graduate, never saw a profile picture of her Facebook friend, she agreed to meet him last April 17 at a fastfood restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue. The girl was eventually convinced to go for a “massage” at a motel where Pascual allegedly took advantage of her and raped her, Matta said.

On Sunday morning, Matta said, Pascual texted the girl anew, saying he wanted to meet her again at a hotel to have sex.

However, one of the girl’s relatives accidentally saw the text message and confronted the girl, who said she was supposed to meet the man later that day.

The girl’s family sought help from barangay (village) watchmen, who hid themselves as the girl met Pascual near the Commission on Audit on Commonwealth Avenue.

Pascual was promptly collared after he hugged the girl upon meeting her, Matta said.

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