Dad, son charged in rape of son's stepdaughter (Viga, Phillipines)

Father VINCENTE BALLARAN and son DANTE BALLARAN have both been charged with rape in a case involving the son's teenage daughter.

http://www.catanduanestribune.com/Dec-16-2009/TopStory/Detail.aspx?newsID=6289

Man, son charged for Viga girl’s rape

December 19,2009

A Viga resident and his son has been charged for two counts of rape each for the repeated sexual abuse of the latter’s teenaged stepdaughter early this year.

Now facing the charges before the Regional Trial Court are Vicente Ballaran and his son Dante, both of barangay P. Vera. The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has recommended that they be held without bail during trial.

According to the 14-year old victim, her stepfather Dante first raped her on April 24, 2009 at 11 P.M. while she was sleeping beside her younger siblings. She said she was awakened by a hand touching her all over her body and then removing her clothes and underwear. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see her stepdad, who held both her arms and then forced himself upon her.

She said she could not do anything but cry, pitying herself and her sibling and afraid for their lives as Dante threatened to cut off their heads if she told anybody about the incident.

Since then, her stepdad would rape her almost everyday except when she was having her monthly period, with the last abuse occurring on Sept. 21, 2009.

On the other hand, she claimed that her stepgrandfather, Vicente, first raped her on June 1 when she went to their home in the barrio to sell abaca harvested from Dante’s farm. At 1 A.M., she was roused by somebody touching her private part and opener her eyes to see her stepgrandfather. She kicked him but he was stronger and was able to take off her clothes. The next rape occurred on July 21.

Her ordeal came to light when her teacher called her mother, who was working in Manila, to ask for the girl’s birth certificate. The teacher noticed that the girl cried while talking to her mother, who later asked the teacher to take the girl into custody as she had been abused. With the help of the principal, the teacher brought her to the hospital for a medico-legal examination.

In her resolution approved by Provincial Prosecutor Eugenio Abion, Prosecutor I Joan Mosatalla noted that the young victim treated Dante as her real father, her own biological father having abandoned her long ago. The girl used Ballaran’s surname in all school records but her birth was not registered, unwittingly leading to the uncovering of the sordid truth.

"Incestuous rape is one of the most repulsive and despised crimes yet the most underreported. Hence, once the child has spoken, the criminal justice system ought to listen," the prosecutor stressed. The resolution was based on the affidavits of the complainant and her witnesses as the two accused could no longer be located.