NEWSFLASH

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ANOTHER RAPE CASE VS. ACE VERGEL

Manila, Sept. 5, 1998 - Radio, TV and newspapers reported yet another rape case against controversial action star Ace Vergel, who had figured in several court and police cases in the past.

According to the reports, a 16-year-old girl presented herself at the San Juan Police Department and charged that she had been raped three times by the actor, to whom she as "pimped" by her neighbor.

The alleged pimp, Elizalde David, was immediately arrested and is now facing charges of child prostitution.

The girl alleged that last May, David brought her to Vergel, who drove her to Baguio. They stopped in Pampanga, where she was "raped" for the first time. In Baguio, she was raped again twice, while the actor was under the influence of shabu.

Vergel allegedly paid the pimp P20,000 and three plastic sachets of shabu for the girl's services. The pimp gave her only P1,500 as her share, according to the alleged victim.

Later, David pimped her to three other men. She said she hesitated about complaining earlier because of threats to her life. She was able to escape and sought the help of Bantay Bayan, whose members brought her to the San Juan police.

Mayor Jinggoy Estrada himself vowed to assist the complainant in securing justice.

Contacted by TV News reporters, Ace Vergel denied the girls' accusations, claiming that during the period the girl claimed she was with Ace, the actor was out of town shooting a movie.

Ace appealed to Mayor Jinggoy Estrada to listen to his side of the story in order to arrive at the truth.

Ace Vergel was previously charged with rape by one of his maids, but the case was dropped later, according to the Manila Times.