G.R. No. 126921 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. JOSE MORENO Y CASTOR, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, finding the accused Jose Moreno y Castor guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape punishable under Art. 335 of the Revised Penal Code, the Court hereby sentences him to suffer imprisonment of reclusion perpetua. The preventive imprisonment undergone by the accused shall be credited in his favor pursuant to Art. 29 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act No. 6127. The Facts Evidence for the Prosecution In the Appellees Brief, [4] the solicitor general [5] presents the following narration of the facts: Accused-appellant Jose Moreno, a carpenter, and complainant Jocelyn Bansagales, a mental retardate, were neighbors in Villa Tech, Palatiw, Pasig City. At the time of the incident, Jocelyn was twenty-six (26) years old. She fondly calls appellant Kuya Joe. In the afternoon of September 29, 1993, while Jocelyn was laundering clothes, appellant approached and held her hand. He led her to a tricycle and drove off to a rented house somewhere in Rotonda, Pasig. No one was in the house. Once inside, appellant began to undress Jocelyn. Afterwards, he [lay] on top of her. He inserted his penis into her vagina and while in this position, moved in an upward and downward motion. Jocelyn did not like what appellant was doing to her. Terrified, she was forced to submission after appellant threatened that he [would] hurt her some more. (pp. 7-8, tsn, May 16, 1994) After satisfying his lust, appellant gave her twenty pesos (P20.00) and sent her home. When Jocelyns mother, Dolores, learned what had happened to her daughter, she immediately brought her to the police station in Pasig City. She booked her complaint with PO2 Aida Verzosa, the policewoman on duty at the station. PO2 Verzosa, together with police officers Nida Balagot and Mario Garcia, then went to Villa Tech, Palatiw, Pasig. Upon seeing appellant, they confronted him with Jocelyns accusation and invited him to the police station. Jocelyn positively identified appellant as the one who raped her. PO2 Verzosa then took down the sworn statement of Jocelyn, on the basis of which, the instant complaint for rape was filed against appellant. Dra. Rosaline O. Cosidon, a medico-legal officer, examined Jocelyn sometime in October 1993. She found deep healed lacerations and shallow healed lacerations in Jocelyns hymen. These lacerations, according to her, could have been caused only by sexual intercourse. (Exhibits C - C-1) Dra. Ester Regina Servando, a resident on training in Psychiatry at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) also examined Jocelyn and submitted a medical certificate of her findings wherein she concluded that: REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on history [and] mental status examinations, patient was diagnosed to have moderate mental retardation. This condition is permanent and I.Q. range is between 35-50. Patient[s] mental age is equivalent to 6 years old. (Exhibit D) These findings were concurred in by Dra. Cecilia Albaran, a psychiatris