G.R. No. 123140, September 23, 2003
People of the Philippines, Appellee, vs. Bernardo Cortezano and Joel Cortezano, Appellants.

FACTS

The appellants, uncles of the seven-year-old victim AAA, were charged with four counts of rape committed in May and June 1990 in Camarines Sur. The prosecution evidence established that AAA was left in the care of her grandparents. On May 6, 1990, appellants ordered AAA to sleep in a room, threatened her, and then successively raped her while the other acted as a lookout. They also compelled their young nephew to rape AAA. They repeated the act on June 10, 1990. The victim remained silent due to threats against her and her family’s lives. The crimes were revealed years later. The Regional Trial Court convicted appellants of four counts of rape and sentenced each to four penalties of reclusion perpetua, plus damages.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of appellants Bernardo and Joel Cortezano for the crime of rape was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalties and damages. The Court found the victim’s testimony credible, straightforward, and consistent. Her detailed account of the successive rape, the use of saliva, the acts of serving as lookouts for each other, and the compulsion of another child to rape her, demonstrated the appellants’ conspiracy. The defense of alibi was weak and could not prevail over the positive identification by the victim. The delay in reporting the crime was sufficiently explained by the victim’s young age and the continuous threats to kill her and her family, which instilled fear. The Court applied the ruling in People v. Pruna, setting the age of criminal responsibility at fifteen, and found that appellants, being twelve and thirteen at the time of the crimes, were exempt. However, they were civilly liable. The Court modified the penalty, imposing an indeterminate sentence for each appellant, and awarded civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages for each count of rape.