By JOE PRIELA
A man who was accused of raping a woman he lured into posing as a cosplay artist was finally nabbed by authorities at a Quezon City mall on Monday afternoon, Sept. 5, 2022, after eluding arrest for more than four years.
Carl Jefferson Soriano, 26, was collared by operatives of the Manila Police District (MPD)-Special Operations Unit (SOU), and the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) of the Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU) of the National Capital Region (NCR) based on a warrant issued by Pasay City Regional Trial Court Judge Gina M. Bibat-Palamos last May 30, 2018. No bail was recommended for his temporary release.
Soriano’s arrest came four years after the complainant reached out to then broadcaster and now senator Raffy Tulfo in his complaints/civic action show, seeking justice for what Soriano had done to her.
The complainant told Tulfo in his show Raffy Tulfo in Action on Feb. 21, 2018 that she met Soriano on Facebook where the suspect engaged her in chats, and was able to convince her to model for him in cosplay costumes.
She said Soriano promised him P7,500 for the photoshoot.
She added that, on the day of the photoshoot, Soriano fetched her on a transport network vehicle service (TNVS), and brought her to a hotel in Pasay City.
According to the victim, Soriano even asked her to pay for the TVNS fare, and the hotel room, and that he will just add on these costs to her talent fee later.
Soriano then told her that two more models and another photographer would be arriving soon to join them.
But it was while they were waiting that the suspect was able to force himself on her, and even banged her head on the wall before raping her.
After she was violated, Soriano belligerently told her that they would have to go to his condominium.
However, after arriving at the lobby of the condominium, Soriano excused himself, saying that he was going to get something from his motorcycle. He never came back.
Tulfo was able to facilitate the filing of a complaint against Soriano, who reportedly went into hiding immediately after.
Three months later, the Pasay City RTC issued the warrant for Soriano’s arrest.