20-year old man nabbed for ‘raping’ teen girlfriend

By Jennifer P. Rendon 

A young man was arrested evening of Oct 24, 2022 for accusations that he raped a teenage girl.

Twenty-year old Ranel Montañez was apprehended at his home in Sitio Walog, Brgy. Linaban, Hamtic, Antique.

Members of Hamtic Municipal Police Station implemented the arrest warrant for six counts of statutory rape under Article 266-A of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act No. 11648 (An Act Providing for Stronger Protection Against Rape and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Increasing the Age for Determining the Commission of Statutory Rape).

The charges are docketed as Criminal Case Numbers 2022-09-10290 to 2022-09-10295.

Judge Ernesto Labio Abijay, Jr. of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 in San Jose, Antique issued the arrest warrant on Oct. 14, 2022.

Montañez was ranked as the 8th most wanted person in Western Visayas, the 6th in Antique province, and No. 1 in Hamtic town.

According to reports, he was accused of raping a 14-year old girl sometime in September 2022.

But the suspect asserted that the girl is his girlfriend who, at her own volition, stayed in his house.

It was allegedly the girl’s father who pursued the case against Montañez.

The suspect is now detained.