Italian envoy facing child abuse rap ordered charged

AMBASSADOR Daniele Bosio in a photo taken from the official website of the Italian Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Laguna Prosecutors Office has ordered the filing of charges against the Italian diplomat who has been detained in the country since last month for alleged child abuse.

Daniele Bosio, the Italian ambassador to Turkmenistan, will be charged with three counts of violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Act and three counts of violation of Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

Bosio was on a holiday when he was arrested last April. Witnesses from the Bahay Tuluyan Foundation, a non-government group promoting children’s rights, alleged that while at the resort in Laguna, they saw Bosio “touching and caressing” three underaged boys in the swimming pool.

When asked how they were related, one of the boys said Bosio was his father but another said they were not related at all.

Sensing something wrong, the foundation executives sought help from policemen at the resort who arrested Bosio.

For his defense, Bosio said he merely acted in the performance of his social and moral duty to afford the children their rights to play and recreation as well as their basic rights to food, clothing and cleanliness.

But Provincial Prosecutor Agrifino Baybay III said in a resolution that if Bosio’s intention was to help uplift the welfare of complainants, “he should have instead brought them to Breakthrough Christian Academy (BCA), Brgy. Bagong Silang, Quezon City where he previously served as volunteer teacher so that they too may have the same opportunity to study and attend school just like the long line of minor children bought to this office during the preliminary investigation to vouch for his supposed reputation for, among others, being fond of and passionate about helping underprivileged children.”

“While respondent appears to have been previously involved in activities both here and abroad, supposedly demonstrating his fondness of and being passionate about helping underprivileged children, the acts herein complained of…are lamentably not typical or distinctive of genuine affection for and passion to help the children involved,” the resolution stated.

Originally posted at 02:09 pm | Monday, May 26, 2014

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