G.R. No. L-12693; August 11, 1917
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CAMILOY (non-Christian), LOPE GUITAGULAN, GAUDENCIO BEQUILLA, and EPIFANIO CAINILLA, defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
The four accused, through force and intimidation, abducted a young mountain woman named Aquilina (also referred to as Tranquilina) to an isolated house. There, they successively raped her throughout the night, again employing force and intimidation. Although some discrepancies existed in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, the court attributed these to the witnesses’ lack of intelligence and upheld the trial court’s findings.

ISSUE:
Whether the penalty imposed by the trial court should be modified in light of aggravating circumstances.

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and, considering the “beastly character of the crime,” found three aggravating circumstances present: (1) taking advantage of superior strength, (2) employing means that brought ignominy, and (3) commission at nighttime. With no mitigating circumstances to offset these, the Court imposed the maximum penalty under the law. Each accused was sentenced to twenty years of reclusion temporal, with the accessory penalties under Article 59 of the Penal Code, and to pay one-fourth of the costs. Additionally, the accused were held jointly and severally liable to endow the victim with ₱500 and to support any offspring until majority.

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