G.R. No. 1157 : February 6, 1905
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. HILARION GUZMAN, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
The defendant, Hilarion Guzman, was charged with the crime of attempted rape. The evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that on or about October 7, 1902, in the City of Manila, he willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously attempted, with force and intimidation, to lie with Felisa Angeles against her will. The attempt was frustrated due to the appearance of a third person, who was alerted by the victim’s outcries. The Court of First Instance of Manila found the defendant guilty of attempted rape and sentenced him to five years of prision correccional, to pay costs, and to suffer the accessory penalties provided by law. The trial court considered the existence of an aggravating circumstance under Article 10, paragraph 20, of the Penal Code.

ISSUE:
Whether the sentence imposed by the lower court is in accordance with law.

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. It held that a person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime who commences its commission directly by an overt act but does not perform all acts necessary for its consummation due to some cause or accident other than his own voluntary desistance. The penalty for the consummated crime of rape under Article 438 of the Penal Code is reclusion temporal. For an attempt, the penalty is two degrees lower, which is prision correccional. The trial court correctly imposed a sentence within the maximum grade of prision correccional, considering the aggravating circumstance. However, due to the extraordinary delay in the disposition of the appeal (from January 1903 to August 1904), the Supreme Court modified the sentence with the following provision: if the defendant had been imprisoned during the pendency of the appeal, one-half of the period of his actual imprisonment shall be credited to the penalty imposed.