One of three men who had allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl multiple times in a span of three years was arrested by police in Bilar town on Tuesday afternoon.

Senior Master Sgt. Anthony Edulsa of the Bilar Police Station (PS) said they arrested Jovito Digamo, 54, at his home in Barangay Cabacnitan at past 2 p.m. for five counts of rape during the implementation of a synchronized enhanced managing police operation or SEMPO.

Police collared Digamo by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Sisinio Virtudazo, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 51 in Carmen.

According to Senior Master Sgt. Melchoria Goria, an investigator for the Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Bilar PS, Digamo raped the victim who is his relative in five separate occasions from 2018 to 2019.

Goria said that the victim was raped two more times by Digamo’s then-17-year-old son from 2019 to 2020. Another man who was not identified by the authorities also allegedly raped the victim two times in 2017 when she was still 12 years old.

Both men remained at large.

Goria said that Digamo had threatened to harm her family if she told anyone about the incident.

“Kadtong at large ug kanang si Jovito maoy nihulga niya na patyon kuno ang ginikanan, mura’g ‘kung mo sumbong ka ahong patyon na imong amahan’,” Goria said.

The victim only decided to tell her parents about the incident in May, 2020 when Digamo started to harass her again.

Her parents in turn reported the incident to the police and filed complaints against the suspects.

“Gi duol-duol na pud siya og balik mao to na nakahigayon na siya, mura’g nangisog na siya sa pag sumbong sa iyang ginikanan,” she added.

Digamo is now under the custody of the Bilar Police Station and is set to be committed to a detention facility.

Meanwhile, police are continuing their search for Digamo’s son and the other suspect. (A. Doydora)