"Child molester" posts P.5M bail

CEBU, Philippines -  The motorcycle dealer who was arrested inside a motel together with a 13-year-old girl he allegedly paid as sexual partner was released yesterday after posting over P500,000 bail on charges of three counts of child abuse and child pornography.

Romeo Lim Rañola, 65, obtained his release order from the court yesterday afternoon after he posted P520,000 surety bail bond for his temporary liberty.

Rañola was indicted by the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for two counts of violation of Section 5(b) and one count for violation of section 6 of the Republic Act 7610 otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

Aside from child abuse, he was also charged for violation of section 4 of the Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009.

Assistant Cebu City Prosecutor Rodulph Joseph Val Carillo found probable cause to indict Rañola of the four charges. Carillo, however, dismissed the complaint for human trafficking against the accused for lack of evidence.

Carillo said it was clear from the evidence that it was the victim’s friend who acted as the trafficker.

According to Carillo, based on the testimony of the victim, she was introduced by her friend (name withheld) to Rañola.

“She (victim’s friend) was the one who recruited and procured the minor as a child prostitute in order to indulge in sexual intercourse with Rañola,” Carrillo said.

The 13-year-old victim claimed that she was able to know the accused after she was introduced by her friend. She said Rañola offered her P1,000 in exchange for sexual services.

Rañola allegedly brought her in the motel twice and had their sexual acts filmed and photographed. The March 26 incident wherein the accused was arrested was already their third time.

Elements of the Cebu City Police Office swooped on him after receiving reports of kidnapping. The victim’s parents sought the help of Barangay Basak-San Nicolas Captain George Rama after they were informed that an unidentified male on board a white Honda Civic picked up their daughter.

Rañola was arrested inside the motel together with the victim. The police also confiscated from him a camera with nude photos of his victims. Rañola’s lawyer Julius Cesar Entise said he will file a motion to suppress the evidence recovered from his client claiming that it was illegally obtained because there was no search warrant when the police searched his vehicle.

Those recovered inside the vehicle includes four cellular phones reportedly containing nude photos and videos of minors doing sexual acts.

Entise added that his client was accused of kidnapping a minor but in fact there was no kidnapping to speak of. (FREEMAN)