G.R. No. 181036 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ADRIANO LEONARDO Y DANTES, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered as follows: 1. In Crim. Cases Nos. 550-V-02 and 551-V-02 , the Court finds the guilt of [appellant] ADRIANO LEONARDO not to have been proven beyond reasonable doubt and acquits him of the charges therein for insufficiency of evidence, with costs de officio ; 2. In Crim. Cases Nos. 348-V-02, 544-V-02, 545-V-02, 549-V-02, 552-V-02 and 553-V-02 , the Court finds [appellant] ADRIANO LEONARDO guilty beyond reasonable doubt and as principal of six (6) counts of rape without any mitigating or aggravating circumstance and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua in each case with all the accessory penalties provided for by law. Further, the [appellant] is sentenced to pay [private] complainant AAA the amount of P50,000.00 as indemnity, and the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages in each case, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. Finally, the [appellant] is sentenced to pay the costs of suit; and 3. In Crim. Cases Nos. 546-V-02, 547-V-02, 548-V-02, 554-V-02 and 555-V-02 the Court finds [appellant] ADRIANO LEONARDO guilty beyond reasonable doubt and as principal of the crime of sexual abuse as defined in and penalized under Section 5(b) of Article III of Republic Act No. 7610 without any attending mitigating or aggravating circumstance and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of EIGHT (8) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY of prision mayor as minimum to FIFTEEN (15) YEARS, SIX (6) MONTHS and TWENTY (20) DAYS of reclusion temporal as maximum in each case with all the accessory penalties provided for by law. Further, the [appellant] is sentenced to pay [private] complainant AAA the amount of P25,000.00 as indemnity and the amount of P25,000.00 as moral damages in each case without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. Finally, the [appellant] is sentenced to pay the costs of suit. The [appellant] being a detention prisoner, he shall be credited the preventive imprisonment he has undergone in the service of his sentence. [41] [Emphasis supplied]. The appellant appealed his convictions to the Court of Appeals. In his brief, the appellant assigned the following errors: THE TRIAL COURT SERIOUSLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT [APPELLANT] IS GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT IN CRIMINAL CASES NOS. 348-V-02, 544-V-02, 545-V-02, 549-V-02, 552-V-02 AND 553-V-02 WITHOUT GIVING WEIGHT AND CREDENCE TO THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE [APPELLANT]. THE TRIAL COURT SERIOUSLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT [APPELLANT] IS GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT IN CRIMINAL CASES NOS. 546-V-02, 547-V-02, 548-V-02, 554-V-02 AND 555-V-02 WITHOUT GIVING WEIGHT AND CREDENCE TO THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE [APPELLANT]. THE TRIAL COURT SERIOUSLY ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT THE PROSECUTION SUFFICIENTLY PROVED THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME AS CHARGED. THE PROSECUTION'S EVIDENCE FELL SHORT OF THE DEGREE OF PROOF THAT IS PROOF BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT REQUIRED BY LAW TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO OVERCOME THE CONSTITUTIONALLY ENSH