CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Police arrested a 62-year-old cobbler for allegedly attempting to rape a 13-year-old girl inside the public market in Barangay Cogon this city on Wednesday afternoon.

The suspect was identified as a certain “Doming,” a sidewalk cobbler at the Cogon public market. The alleged victim is a 13-year-old daughter of a sidewalk vendor in the said market.

Investigation showed that the victim was helping her mother sell rags in the sidewalk when she suddenly disappeared in the market. The mother then began looking for her daughter but failed to find her.

After an hour of search, the girl suddenly appeared running away from the storage section of the market seeking for help shouting that the suspect dragged her and tried to rape her.

The mother sought police assistance and arrested the suspect who was returning to his stall. The mother alleged that the suspect could be high with rugby which he used in repairing shoes in his stall when the attempted rape took place.

The mother reported that the suspect dragged her daughter and brought her to the storage area and attempted to molest the victim.