A stepfather was arrested Tuesday morning in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, on charges of qualified rape, police said Thursday.

The suspect, identified only by his alias “Sam,” was apprehended by operatives of the Northern Police District’s Special Operations Unit (NPD- DSOU) and the Northern District Intelligence Team — Regional Intelligence Unit NCR (NDIT-RIU NCR). The arrest occurred Tuesday, 1 April.

Police Staff Sgt. Honeybelle Data of the NPD-DSOU said the arrest warrant for Sam was issued by the Family Court in Caloocan City in June 2023.

“Reportedly, our suspect repeatedly raped his stepdaughter between November 2017 and June 2018 at their house in Caloocan City,” Data said.

According to the police report, the daughter was around 14 to 15 years old when the alleged crimes occurred, classifying the offense as qualified rape.

“The daughter disclosed the abuse to her mother, which led to the filing of charges against her stepfather,” the police investigator said.

The victim stated that around June 2018, Sam went to her new residence in Valenzuela City and asked her to return to their Caloocan City home, which further traumatized her, according to the police report.

The suspect denied his stepdaughter’s allegations.

“I did ask her to return to our house in Caloocan City because I just missed them. We had a conflict before, and I said, ‘They should leave the house.’ I made a mistake, so I will pick them up and bring them back,” he said.

He also denied repeatedly raping his stepdaughter.

Sam was previously arrested in 2019 in Valenzuela City on child abuse charges and was detained for six months.

The suspect, also considered a most wanted person by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, will face two counts of qualified rape.

The NPD-DSOU is awaiting a return order from the issuing court regarding a P120,000 bail set for one count of attempted qualified rape.