G.R. No. 130491 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ROBERTO MENGOTE, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the court finds accused Roberto Mengote guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape, as defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. 7659, and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of Death and to pay the offended party Jenny Mengote the following: P100,000.00 as moral damages and P100,000.00 as exemplary damages." Roberto Mengote was charged with rape under the following information: "That on or about the 20 th day of March, 1996, in the municipality of Hagonoy, province of Bulacan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, being then the father of the offended party, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously by means of force and intimidation and with lewd designs, have carnal knowledge of the offended party, Jenny Mengote, a twelve (12) year old girl against her will and without her consent. Contrary to law." The accused with the assistance of counsel de officio pleaded NOT GUILTY upon arraignment. [1] The prosecution presented the victim Jenny Mengote, her mother Dolores Mengote who assisted her when she filed a complaint for rape and Dr. Edgardo Gueco, who prepared the medico-legal report dated April 22, 1996 marked as Exh. "D". Jenny Mengote is the daughter of the accused Roberto Mengote and Dolores Mengote. She turned twelve on January 25, 1996, and was a Grade 6 student at the Sagrada Familia Elementary School in Hagonoy, Bulacan. She testified on June 27, 1996 on the incident that happened on March 20, 1996 between the hours of 7:00 o'clock and 8:00 o'clock in the evening. She was watching TV in her Tita Meloida's house, which is about 2 or 3 meters from her own home, when her father called her from the door of their house and ordered her to get his lighter upstairs. When she got the lighter, her father followed and embraced her from behind. She was surprised because her father was not in the habit of embracing her except when she was a small child. She evaded him by going to the place where they kept their clothes. Her father followed her again, embraced her and kissed her on the face, at the same time telling her to keep quiet and not to report to anybody ("huwag akong magsusumbong"). She left the place and went down to where their water jar was located in order to evade her father. Her father followed, pinched her ear and pulled her upstairs while still holding her ear. He again embraced and kissed her, touched her private part (referring to her vagina) while she was in a standing position, and proceeded to remove her T-shirt, her shorts and her panty. She protested "huwag, huwag" but her father told her "sandali lang iyon." Thereafter, he laid her down on the floor, removed his pants and briefs and put his body on top of her, face down. She was then lying straight, and her father separated her right thigh from the left and inserted his penis into her vagina, which caused her pain. The pe