G.R. No. 221443 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. DOMINADOR LADRA, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, accused-appellant is ordered to pay AAA the amount of P75,000.00 as moral damages, P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, and P75,000.00 as exemplary damages. In FC Criminal Case No. 2008-427, however, the Court disagrees with the CA's affirmance of the RTC's finding that accused-appellant can only be held guilty of Unjust Vexation. After a punctilious review of the evidence, the Court finds that he should instead be convicted of Acts of Lasciviousness, as charged in the information, in relation to Section 5 (b) of RA 7610. Acts of Lasciviousness is defined and penalized under Article 336 of the RPC, which reads: Article 336. Acts of lasciviousness . - Any person who shall commit any act of lasciviousness upon other persons of either sex, under any of the circumstances mentioned on the preceding article, shall be punished by prision correccional . Conviction for such crime requires the concurrence of the following elements: ( a ) that te offender commits any act of lasciviousness or lewdness; ( b ) that it is done under any of the following circumstances: ( i ) through force, threat, or intimidation, ( ii ) when the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious, ( iii ) by means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority, and ( iv ) when the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present; and ( c ) that the offended party is another person of either sex. [38] Meanwhile, Section 5 (b) of RA 7610 provides: Section 5. Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuse . - Children , whether male or female, who for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to the coercion or influence of any adult, syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct , are deemed to be children exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon the following: x x x x (b) Those who commit the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child exploited in prostitution or subject to other sexual abuse ; Provided , That when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age, the perpetrators shall be prosecuted under Article 335, paragraph 3, for rape and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, the Revised Penal Code, for rape or lascivious conduct, as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty for lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its medium period; and x x x x. Before an accused can be held criminally liable for lascivious conduct under Section 5 (b) of RA 7610, the requisites of the crime of Acts of Lasciviousness as penalized under Article 336 of the RPC above-enumerated must be met in addition to the requisites for sexual abuse under Section 5 (b) of RA 7610, as follows: (1) the accused commits the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct; (2) the said act is p