GR 35753; (March, 1932) (Digest)
G.R. No. 35753 ; March 26, 1932
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FERNANDO PINEDA, LEONOR BENEDICTO, and NICASIO SANTIAGO, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The accused, Fernando Pineda, Leonor Benedicto, and Nicasio Santiago, were charged with the complex crime of forcible abduction with rape against Maria Lourdes Dasig, a virgin over 12 and under 18 years old. The evidence showed that on the evening of February 11, 1931, in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, the appellants forcibly took Maria from her home. They then brought her to another location where all three successively raped her by force and intimidation. Afterwards, Pineda took her to another house where he detained her for fourteen days and repeatedly raped her. Pineda claimed the victim consented to leave because she was pregnant, while the other two denied involvement. The trial court convicted all three, imposing the penalty of reclusion temporal with the aggravating circumstance of nocturnity.
ISSUE
Whether the appellants are guilty of the complex crime of forcible abduction with rape under Article 342 of the Revised Penal Code, and what is the proper penalty considering the presence of aggravating circumstances.
RULING
Yes, the appellants are guilty of the complex crime of forcible abduction with rape. The Supreme Court found the evidence conclusive that the appellants abducted and successively raped the victim by force and intimidation. The court rejected Pineda’s claim of consent as not credible. The penalty for the complex crime is reclusion temporal. The Court appreciated the aggravating circumstances of nocturnity and superior strength, which, with no mitigating circumstances, warranted the imposition of the penalty in its maximum degree. The trial court’s judgment was modified only to specify that the appellants shall jointly and severally endow the offended party in the sum of P500; in all other respects, the judgment was affirmed.
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