A distraught mother frantically searched the dark streets of Barangay Sapang, Bayabas in Mabalacat City, Pampanga, on the night of October 19, 2025. She was looking for her missing daughter, eight-year-old Amy.

According to her mother, Amy had only asked permission to go to the pisonet computer shop where her older sibling worked.

Preoccupied with work, the mother did not notice when her older child left but Amy never returned home. Where did Amy go, and what happened to her?

A young girl was assaulted in Mabalacat City, Pampanga, the victim of a brutal beating and rape near the expressway in Mabalacat City.

On the morning of October 20, 2025, NLEX security personnel patrolling a secluded section of the expressway in Mabalacat City, Pampanga, encountered a gruesome sight.

They discovered the barely conscious body of a child, partially covered by dry banana leaves. When they removed the leaves, the victim’s pitiful state was revealed.

She was missing her lower garments, had severe head wounds, and her small body bore visible bruises and signs of the violence inflicted by the suspect.

Seeing that the victim still had a pulse and was breathing, the security personnel immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital.

Due to the critical nature of her injuries, they promptly reported the incident to the Mabalacat City, Pampanga police, who immediately launched an investigation.

Meanwhile, after failing to locate her missing daughter, Amy’s parents sought assistance from the barangay office of Barangay Sapang, Bayabas.

In response, the barangay officials and personnel, led by their Barangay Captain, immediately sprang into action.

As a first step, they reviewed Amy’s last known location. Reports indicated she was last seen around 8:00 p.m. at the computer shop where her older sibling worked.

The team returned to the computer shop. Fortunately, the establishment had a CCTV camera installed.

From the CCTV footage, they saw young Amy wearing a white dress. Moments later, a man approached her.

The CCTV clearly showed the man tapping the child on the shoulder. After a brief exchange, the two were seen leaving the computer shop together.

The man was immediately recognized by the barangay officials as a resident of the barangay, identified as 20-year-old Christian.

The combined forces of the barangay officials, Barangay Tanods, and concerned citizens immediately launched a search for the man.

Everyone hoped he would hold the key to the whereabouts of the missing Amy. However, their anxiety intensified when they failed to locate the man as well.

Their search continued until the morning of October 20, 2025, when they finally found him. At first, Christian vehemently denied knowing the whereabouts of the missing child.

However, when confronted with the CCTV footage, his statement changed. At this point, he admitted to being the last person with the child.

Accompanied by the suspect, the search team immediately scoured the thicket beside the NLEX where Christian claimed he had left Amy.

Everyone was anxious and hurried, with one simple plea: that they would find the child alive.

The team’s fears worsened when they reached the location indicated by the suspect, but Amy was not there. It was only then they learned that she had already been found earlier by the NLEX security personnel.

Miraculously, doctors were able to stabilize the child and immediately provided emergency medical treatment.

Reports confirmed that young Amy was a victim of rape. It was also confirmed that her young body had endured severe beating and abuse.

The suspect, Christian, confessed that Amy had gone with him after he promised to give her 20 pesos.

The police confirmed the man admitted to being the last person with the child and taking her to the NLEX area.

“We can see that he tapped the child, and the child went with him. It’s because he offered the child 20 pesos, so the child went with him,” a police representative stated.

Examinations confirmed the child was a positive victim of abuse. “The child was raped. The child had injuries, ma’am, because when she was brought in critical condition, she couldn’t open her eyes,” a police officer added.

It was positively determined that the suspect had repeatedly hit the child’s head. “She was hit repeatedly with a rock. He tried to kill the child,” the officer further narrated.

Consequently, the suspect, Christian, was immediately arrested and charged with statutory rape and frustrated murder under the Anti-Child Abuse Law, Republic Act 7610.

If proven guilty, he faces the heaviest penalty: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

What deeply affects many is the condition of the victim. Although she survived death, she will forever carry the cruelty she suffered and the loss of her innocence.

The community can only hope that she fully overcomes this painful experience and that it does not negatively impact her future.