G.R. No. 264724 - JHOPET TORALDE Y HERNANDEZ,*, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, the prosecution having sufficiently established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, this Court finds the accused, JHOPET TORALDE y HERNANDEZ, GUILTY of the crime off [s]exual [a]buse under [Section 5(b)] of [Republic Act No.] 7610. Under [Section 5(b)] of [Republic Act No.] 7610, the prescribed penalty for lascivious conduct is reclusion temporal in its medium period[,] to reclusion perpetua . In the absence of mitigating or aggravating circumstances, the maximum term of the sentence shall be taken from the medium period thereof. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the minimum term shall be taken within the range of the penalty next lower in degree, which is prision mayor in its medium period[,] to reclusion temporal in its minimum period. Accordingly, accused JHOPET TORALDE y HERNANDEZ is sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of imprisonment ranging from a period of ten (10) years and one (1) day of prision mayor , as minimum, to fourteen (14) years and one (1) day of reclusion temporal , as maximum. The accused is likewise ordered to pay the victim the following sums: [PHP] 75,000.00 as civil indemnity; [PHP] 50,000.00 as moral damages; Exemplary damages are likewise called for by way of public example and to protect the young from sexual abuse[,] which is the amount of [PHP] 30,000.00. Lastly, in accordance with current jurisprudence, the damages awarded shall earn legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum to be reckoned from the date of finality of this judgment until fully paid. [29] SO ORDERED.