G.R. No. 35235; September 10, 1931
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EUGENIO MOMO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

The defendant-appellant, Eugenio Momo, was convicted of the crime of rape against Olimpia Arguelles. The prosecution alleged that the act was accomplished through violence and intimidation. The victim testified that she resisted until overpowered. Corroborative evidence included her immediate report to her mother while weeping, her torn dress, and a medical examination showing signs of recent coition and violence. The defense argued improbability of the crime’s location, lack of corroboration, and presented alibi witnesses, including testimony suggesting the victim had prior relations with another man, Gregorio Alcornoque. The trial court credited the prosecution’s evidence.

ISSUE

Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant committed rape through violence or intimidation.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, with modification. The Court held that the victim’s testimony, corroborated by her distressed condition after the incident, her torn dress, and the medical findings, sufficiently established that the act was accomplished through violence against her will. The force employed need not be irresistible; it is sufficient that it overcame her resistance. The defense’s exculpatory evidence, including testimonies from partial witnesses and an alternative perpetrator theory, was found unconvincing and contradicted. However, the Court deleted the portion of the trial court’s judgment ordering the appellant to acknowledge any offspring, as he was a married man and his civil status forbade such acknowledgment. The dissenting opinion argued that the victim’s testimony was uncorroborated and influenced by a witness with a grudge against the appellant, but the majority found the evidence sufficient for conviction.

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