Rape suspect takes own life

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Bugged by a guilty conscience, a 23-year-old man allegedly took his own life in Leon, Iloilo.

Lieutenant Melchor Tolentino, Leon police chief, declined to identify the man claiming that it might lead to the identity of the 17-year-old girl he allegedly raped before the suicide episode.

Jun (not his real name) was accused of sexually molesting the girl 6:30 p.m. on September 5.

The victim, who is the cousin of Jun’s live-in partner, claimed that Jun allegedly forced himself on her. She told her grandmother that the suspect threatened her with a knife.

Before any formal complaint was filed with the police, Jun allegedly ran off.

A village resident later found him hanging in a duhat (Java plum) tree.

Tolentino believed that the suspect may have been rattled by the charges that might be filed against him, on top of a severe bout of guilt.