Teacher arrested for 'rape' of pupil

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – Members of the National Bureau of Investigation – Western Visayas collared a teacher for allegedly raping his 10-year-old pupil Wednesday evening.

The suspect, 29-year-old Rufino Zibanes, Jr. from Dumalag town in Capiz but temporarily residing at Brgy. Benedicto, Jaro district in this city, was caught in an entrapment operation at the 3rd floor of the Kids Alternative Home and Development Academy, Inc., at Purok 3, Pavia, Iloilo.

Zibanes was with his alleged victim, a Grade IV female pupil, when the arrest was made, according to NBI-6 director Elfren Meneses, adding that the victim was crying while accusing her teacher of sexually molesting her.

Meneses said the arrest was made after the girl’s parents went to his office last Monday to lodge a complaint against Zibanes, who was a PE teacher of that school. After the arrest, NBI operatives then brought the victim to a medical examination, the results of which showed that she had been into sexual contact.

It was gathered that it took a while for the NBI and the victim’s family to let the girl understand that she was abused and that she needed to cooperate with them to bring her abuser to the bar of justice.

Reports had it that it was through social networking site Facebook that the alleged relationship between the suspect and the victim was discovered. A relative of the victim first noticed the unusual exchanges of intimate messages between Zibanes and the girl. The relative then called the girl's parents, both working in Qatar, about her suspicion. This prompted the parents to go home immediately and investigate to confirm what really happened.

Meneses however refused to go into details of such intimate communication, which he claimed was offbeat for a teacher and his 10-year-old pupil. He only said that it was possible that Zibanes was able to lure the juvenile girl into having a "relationship" with him.

Reports stated that the girl was abused by her ‘trusted” mentor for about 15 times. “Whether the sexual contacts happened with or without her consent, the fact that she is just 10 years old connote that there was abuse,” said the NBI-6 official.

Meneses said NBI-6 would file a case of statutory rape, in relation to Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law, against Zibanes, and that his office would also ask the school administration to call for a PTA (Parents Teachers Association) meeting next week to discuss the matter. “We (NBI-6) believed that there were at least four victims who fell into the trap of Mr. Zibanes,” he said.

NBI arrived into this assumption after the victim claimed that she knew of another girl who had a sexual affair with her teacher. Aside from using sweet talks to lure children into his trap, NBI operatives described Zibanes to be physically good looking. Zibanes, who is now detained at NBI-6 office, is married to an elementary school teacher. (FREEMAN)