Published: 1:08 p.m., July 29, 2017 | Updated: 12:26 a.m., July 30, 2017

A priest who heads a Catholic school was arrested on Friday night as he was allegedly taking a 13-year-old girl to a motel in Marikina City.

Msgr. Arnel Lagarejos, 55, underwent inquest proceedings on Saturday afternoon for alleged violation of the Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act following his arrest around 6:30 p.m. on July 28 near Blue Wave Mall on Sumulong Highway in Barangay Sto. Niño.

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A report to Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, Eastern Police District director, said a joint team from Marikina police and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) caught Lagarejos in his sport utility vehicle (SUV) with the minor.

He allegedly came to know the girl, an out-of-school youth, through a 16-year-old gay “pimp,” who was also arrested that same night.

The arrests were made based on information from the girl’s mother, who earlier alerted the Marikina police.

Suspect tight-lipped

In an interview, the city police chief, Senior Supt. Roger Quesada, said Lagarejos initially described himself as a self-employed man when arrested but later admitted he was a priest during questioning.

Lagarejos, who remained in detention as of press time, refused to be interviewed by reporters.

Quoting statements from the mother and the arrested gay teenager, Quesada said Lagarejos was caught as he was about to take the girl to a motel on Sumulong Highway.

Seized from the gay teenager was his smartphone containing text messages purportedly about his transaction with the priest for the girl.

Sapitula said barangay officials and social workers had actually spoken with the girl a day before the entrapment.

The girl then said Lagarejos actually brought her to a motel for the first time in June and warned her “at gunpoint” not to let other men “book” her.

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Based on the suspect’s LinkedIn account, Lagarejos is the current president of Cainta Catholic College (CCC) and former parish priest of the Our Lady of Abandoned Parish also in Cainta.

His credentials, which are also listed in the CCC website, include a doctorate degree in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

P500 payment

During the entrapment operation, Quesada said, the girl’s mother and a police team waited at the spot where Lagarejos was expected to meet with the pimp.

When the priest arrived in his SUV, he was joined in the vehicle by the gay man and the girl. The gay man later got out after receiving P500 from Lagarejos.

The priest then drove off with the girl but was later stopped by the arresting team along Sumulong Highway. IDL/ atm

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MOST READ</s>Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos has been relieved of all his designations in his diocese, Antipolo Bishop Francisco de Leon says

MANILA, Philippines – A 55-year-old priest from a parish in Taytay, Rizal, was arrested for allegedly "booking" a 13-year-old girl with the help of a 16-year-old pimp, the Marikina police said.

Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos was detained immediately after his arrest in Santo Niño, Marikina City, on Friday evening, July 28.

Because of this, Antipolo Bishop Francisco de Leon said in a message on Saturday evening, July 29, that Lagarejos has been relieved of all his designations in his diocese.

Lagarejos was president of Cainta Catholic College (CCC). He was also parish priest of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Poblacion, Taytay, Rizal.

Lagarejos holds a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a licentiate in theology from the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City, according to his profile on the CCC website.

The priest, however, initially identified himself to the police as "self employed," Police Senior Inspector Jacqueline Ta-a told Rappler.

Police said Lagarejos was caught in an entrapment operation by the Marikina City Police Women and Children's Protection Desk, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Ta-a said it was the DSWD that first found out that the victim, an out-of-school youth from Marikina City, was being pimped.

This was after the victim opened up to the DSWD. At that time, the victim had been taken in DSWD custody for breaking the city curfew.

"Nagkuwento 'yung bata sa DSWD na parang involved siya together with her friends doon sa parang ibinu-booking sila ng kaibigan nilang bakla (The child told the DSWD that she is involved, together with her friends, in being "booked" by their gay friend)," Ta-a said in a phone interview Saturday evening.

When the DSWD learned about this, the social workers met with the victim's parents. At that time, Ta-a said, the girl's Facebook (FB) messenger account was also opened.

"Tamang tama, noong nabuksan ang FB, meron na namang nagpapa-booking (Coincidentally, when her FB account was opened, someone was having her booked again)," Ta-a said.

This was when they tried to trap the 16-year-old pimp.

The entrapment happened when the pimp escorted the victim to Lagarejos' vehicle.

At first, the pimp and the victim boarded Lagarejos' vehicle together. The priest supposedly handed P500 to the pimp, after which the pimp got off.

The victim was left with Lagarejos inside the vehicle.

Shortly after, policemen approached the pimp and arrested him.

Lagarejos' vehicle sped off "on the way to an unknown motel," police said, then was blocked by the police.

Police said it recovered the following as evidence:
• Lagarejos' iPhone 5s containing text messages of "transactions" between him, the victim, and the pimp

Ta-a said Lagarejos underwent inquest on Saturday for allegedly violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

In a statement, the Diocese of Antipolo said it is looking into the arrest of Lagarejos "as allegedly identified as a suspect in an entrapment operation in Marikina City."

"Thus, we assure the public that we respect the necessary procedures as provided by law in order to further investigate the matter," the Diocese of Antipolo said.

The diocese also urged the public to "refrain from issuing unnecessary comments that might worsen the situation."

"Instead, we appeal for all the faithful to pray that the truth may come out," the Diocese of Antipolo said. – Rappler.com</s>Click on the From Chauffeur to Priest link to read more.

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The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs reports that Tylor Ray McKeller, who is reportedly homeless, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of second-degree sexual assault.

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The child told workers at the Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center that the 18-year-old had touched her inappropriately.

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Investigators say the couple also admitted to taking the girl to a park where she was sexually assaulted.

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The Chairman of Catholic Laity of Nigeria, Barr. Chizoba Nnnagbo, said the opposing priests and Catholic faithful in the diocese have no option than to religiously comply with the directive of the Holy Father, Pope Francis to accept Bishop Okpalaeke as their Bishop.

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“We are more stupefied by the fact that these utterances were coming from people who are well schooled in the teaching and doctrines of the Catholic Church. We cannot profess to be catholic, while our words and actions show antithesis,” he said.

The Council Chairman frowned at the name-calling, denigration and blackmail of the hierarchy of the church and called on Mbaise people to exercise restraints, as such action was not in tandem with their cultural milieu.

He asserted that the recent appointment, acceptance and peaceful installation of the Bishop of Ogoja, who hails from Ikot Ekpene was instructive enough to Ahiara.“The teaching of Catholic Church richly documented in our myriad Catholic literature is enough to sway any aggrieved member to the part of obedience to the Pope, the Vicar of</s>New brides can be seen in the attached photo from Karachi, Pakistan; all decked out in red in a buggy adorned with lights and decorations. While that mass marriage ceremony from Monday, March 24, 2014, may have featured the celebrations of the 120 couples whose weddings were funded by a local organization helping people who couldn’t afford wedding ceremonies, another Pakistani wedding is drawing scorn.

According to the Independent, a young girl only five years of age was forced to marry a 22-year-old man in Pakistan. The so-called wedding of the five-year-old girl to the 22-year-old man drew authorities to the wedding ceremony, which took place in the village of Raman Shar. The village is located near the outskirts of Dakhan Town, Pakistan, which is about 25 miles from Shikarpur, a small city and the capital of Shikarpur District, which is located in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

Police did not arrive in time to stop the nuptials. The Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, claimed that the marriage between the five-year-old girl and the man happened on Saturday, July 15. By the time authorities got to the wedding, they were able to arrest the 22-year-old “groom,” Habibullah Shar, along with his father, Gul Meer. Also arrested was 40-year-old Molvi Kifayatullah Bhutto, the wedding contract reciter or custodian.

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The minimum age for marriage in the region is 16, but child marriages are widespread throughout the Islamic country, according to the publication. Reactions of outrage are spreading across social media at the news of a five-year-old girl being forced to marry a 22-year-old man. Although those who fight against child marriage wanted the age of consent raised to 18, the Pakistani National Assembly rejected the notion.

Girls not Brides is a charity that estimates about one out of every five Pakistani women is married by the time they turn 18, with a high number of forced marriages.
Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos, a Catholic priest from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo, Philippines was arrested in Marikina for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl, by inviting her to a motel with a 16-year-old pimp.