The Supreme Court denied the appeal of GGG269811 and affirmed, with modifications, his conviction for three counts of Statutory Rape and one count of Sexual Assault committed against a child victim in the Province of Laguna.
The Court sustained the June 29, 2023 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 16711, which had affirmed the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Laguna finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The Case
The prosecution filed three charges of Statutory Rape and one charge of Sexual Assault against GGG269811 before the RTC. Statutory Rape refers to the rape of a child below 12 years old (now 16 years old under Republic Act No. 11648) under Article 266-A(1) of the Revised Penal Code. Sexual Assault is based on Article 266-A(2) of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 5(b) of Republic Act No. 7610.
According to the Informations, the accused was the common-law husband of the private complainant's paternal grandmother. In Criminal Case No. SC-21639, the accused was charged with having carnal knowledge of the victim, a nine-year-old minor, sometime in the year 2014. In Criminal Case Nos. SC-21640 and SC-21641, he was charged with having carnal knowledge of the victim, a 10-year-old minor, sometime in the year 2015. In Criminal Case No. SC-21642, he was charged with Sexual Assault for inserting his finger into the vagina of the victim, a nine-year-old minor, sometime in the year 2014.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The prosecution presented as witnesses the victim AAA269811; her father FFF269811; her aunt AMA269811; and another aunt HHH269811.
A Medico Legal Report dated June 7, 2017, prepared by Dr. Maria Cheryl C. Obcemea of the Provincial Health Office and stipulated as authentic by both parties, stated that the victim's genitalia had "thick fibretic edges, 6 o'clock laceration," showing that the wound had healed after the insertion of a hard object.
The victim testified that she was nine years old when the abuse began in 2014.
The Issue
The Court examined whether the accused was properly convicted of the crimes charged and whether the penalties and the amounts of civil indemnity and damages should be modified.
The Ruling
The Court held that because the offender was the common-law spouse of the victim's grandparent, and the law provides that the crime becomes Qualified Rape only when the offender is the common-law spouse of the victim's father or mother, the accused was more correctly convicted of Statutory Rape. Under Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty for Statutory Rape is reclusion perpetua.
For the Sexual Assault under Article 266-A(2) of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty is prision mayor, which, applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, lowered by one degree to prision correccional.
In its dispositive portion, the Court ordered: the appeal is denied; the June 29, 2023 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 16711 is affirmed with modifications. For Criminal Case Nos. SC-21639, SC-21640, and SC-21641 (three counts of Statutory Rape), the accused is sentenced to reclusion perpetua for each count, and ordered to pay PHP 100,000.00 as civil indemnity, PHP 100,000.00 as moral damages, and PHP 100,000.00 as exemplary damages for each count in favor of the victim AAA269811. For Criminal Case No. SC-21642 (Sexual Assault), he is sentenced to four years and two months of prision correccional, as the minimum period, to ten years of prision mayor, as the maximum period, and ordered to pay PHP 50,000.00 as civil indemnity, PHP 50,000.00 as moral damages, and PHP 50,000.00 as exemplary damages.
All monetary awards bear 6% interest per year from the finality of the Decision until fully paid. The Department of Social Welfare and Development was directed to assist the victim and her family through the appropriate Rape Crisis Center, pursuant to Republic Act No. 8505, the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998.
By the Numbers
- G.R. No. 269811
- CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 16711
- Court of Appeals Decision dated June 29, 2023
- RTC Decision dated January 7, 2022
- 3 counts of Statutory Rape; 1 count of Sexual Assault
- Victim: 9 years old (2014); 10 years old (2015)
- Medico Legal Report dated June 7, 2017
- PHP 100,000.00 each for civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages per Statutory Rape count
- PHP 50,000.00 each for civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages for Sexual Assault
- 6% interest per year
The Court's Reasoning
The Court explained that the accused's status as the common-law spouse of the victim's grandmother aggravated the crimes, showing a betrayal of his duty to care for the victim as his own grandchild. It noted that while Article 266-B raises the criminal penalty for Statutory Rape when committed by the common-law spouse of the victim's parent as a qualifying circumstance, this does not prevent the Court from increasing the civil indemnity and damages to ease the victim's suffering.
The Court further noted that the accused raped the victim not once but three times. Citing precedents including People v. Jugueta, People v. Buclao, and People v. HHH, the Court found no reason not to follow the increase of civil indemnity and damages to PHP 100,000.00 each for the Statutory Rape counts.
This report is based on the Supreme Court Decision in G.R. No. 269811.
This report summarizes a public Supreme Court decision and is not legal advice.