Criminal Law

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Marvilie M. Serna
Dindo Tanoy
Gala Gay Bolen

Facts
Teresa first came to know Orlando when the latter called her through her cellphone after
the latter got her number from a common friend. Teresa met Orlando fro the first time on
11 August 2011 when he came to her boarding house at Colon Extension, Dumaguete
City and invited her to attend a seminar at UNO, a networking company holding office at
Cervantes Extension, Dumaguete City. On 12 August 2011 Orlando came to see her at
her boarding house at Colon Extension, Dumaguete City at about 3:00pm. He texted
Teresa and inquired who she was with before coming over. Teresa told the respondent
that she was alone. While they were sitting in the sala inside the boarding house, Orlando
pulled her by the hand and placed her on his lap. Teresa tried to get away but Orlando
held her tight preventing her from escaping until her board mate by the name of Edna
arrived and requested her to open the door. Edna allegedly saw them through the door of
the boarding house. After Edna went inside the room, Orlando again pulled her on his lap
and held her hips. He opened the zipper of her pants and inserted his fingers inside her
vagina. She felt pain because of the insertion. Orlando left at about 5:00 pm.
Orlando claims that he and Teresa were romantically involved and that he was at
her boarding house on 12 August 2011 in the afternoon and on 14 August 2011 at dawn
upon her invitation. While in Teresa’s boarding house in these two (2) occasions, they
allegedly succumbed to engage in intimate acts in the course of their exchange of sweet
and romantic words of affection. They kissed and caressed each other to the point that
Teresa exhorted him to touch her vagina to which the respondent willingly complied but
without inserting his fingers into her vagina. The fact that they were sweethearts and that
the intimate acts they did were with complainant’s consent is shown by text messages she
sent to the respondent from 12 August 2011 to 15 August 2011 at around 01:46:22 p.m.,
she sent him a text message wherein she asked the respondent what she felt after holding
her vagina. In the text message she sent him on 15 August 2011 at around 10:51:27 a.m.,
she told him she loved him. The respondent claims that he later learned that the
complainant told her co-workers at Why Not Resto Bar, who are also his friends, the
intimate acts that they did and that complainant described him as “hot”.


Explanation

Since the facts do not state the action instituted by Teresa, we are bound to infer two
possible and these are rape by sexual assault or acts of lasciviousness.

The elements of rape by sexual assault are the following:

1. That the offender commits an act of sexual assault;
2. That the act of sexual assault is committed by any of the following means:
a. By inserting his penis into another person’s mouth or anal orifice; or
b. By inserting any instrument or object into the genital or anal orifice of another
person;
3. That the act of sexual assault is accomplished under any of the following
circumstances:
a. By using force or intimidation; or
b. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; or
c. By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; or
d. When the woman is under 12 years of age or demented.


A careful scrutiny of the facts of the case led us to conclude that there was no
crime committed at all. What transpired between Teresa and Orlando on the 12
th
of
August 2011 can neither be considered rape by sexual assault nor act of lasciviousness
simply because the elements of both crimes do not concur. True enough, Orlando’s
insertion of fingers inside Teresa’s vagina with her manifesting a little resentment may
seem, at first glance, an act of rape but the fact that the degree of force and intimidation
was not sufficient as to render her incapable of resisting would nullify the occurrence of
such crime. In fact, it can be inferred that she actually impliedly consented to the act
because if she had the will to stop him, she could have immediately alarmed Edna who
happened to be at the same boarding house. Moreover, the kissing and caressing were in
no way acts of lasciviousness since there was an apparent romantic involvement between
the two as supported by the transcribed text messages from Teresa.

Lewd design is not present in this case because it is only happens when a person
derives vicarious pleasure from an independent act. The presence of lewd designs is
inferred from the nature of the acts themselves and the environmental circumstances. But
it appears that the inferred testimony of the victim will not hold water. Because first is the
location, if there is lewd designs that was premeditated, the offender would not commit a
crime in a sala of a boarding house or in a place were there are people that might suspect
such acts. Second, the time, if offender had committed the crime of rape, after he
consummated the crime he should have panicked or at least ran away or hid after the
crime have been committed, but in fact he stayed for 2 hours, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Third is the witness, Edna, who saw them in the sala without the alleged victim asking for
help even if Edna was already inside her room. In addition to that, the respondent has
supported the fact that they were indeed romantically involved as corroborated by the
evidence attached to the affidavit.

Hence, we are made to believe that concluding the absence of any crime in this
case is a simply stating what is obvious and Teresa had completely no legal ground for
action.


















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