Damning portrait

It has been said that a picture speaks a thousand words. Thus in cases where the two sides have different stories, a photograph is much better and more reliable proof. This is illustrated in this case of Nina.

Nina is the very pretty and only daughter of Bert and Betty. She had two other brothers. The family stays in their own house located at a city down south. Bert is working in a hotel as a waiter while Betty stays at home as a mere housewife taking care of the children. By her looks, Nina appears to be as pretty as her mother.

When Nina was five years old, Bert took her to the hotel and introduced her to Jim, an American who used to visit the city and stayed in the hotel. Bert allowed Nina to sleep with Jim in the room. Before leaving, Jim gave Nina a wrist watch, magazines and toys. He also gave to her father two Polaroid cameras which can develop pictures in seconds. Bert and Betty used these cameras to take obscene pictures of Nina which were sent to Jim in the US. In return Jim sent dollars to Bert. Jim was also the one paying for the tuition fees of Nina and for her school uniforms and other needs since started school at age seven.

When Nina was eight years old, Bert again took her to Jim’s room at the hotel in one of his visits here. After a conversation between Bert and Jim, Bert left Nina with Jim inside the room. When she was alone with Jim in the room, the latter took her obscene pictures in various positions. Thereafter, many pictures were sent by her parents to Jim on the latter’s order. All of them depicted Nina without her clothes on. The money sent by Jim was even used by her parents to play mahjong. Sometimes Nina even plays with them.

One time when Nina was 11 years old already, upon arrival from school and while inside her room, Bert asked her to undress in the presence of Betty. When she was already naked, Bert asked Betty to take several pictures with the Polaroid camera. Betty refused, but Bert forced her and told her that Jim had ordered those pictures. Among these pictures show Bert having sex with Nina while Betty took their pictures on orders of Bert. Nina felt the pain but Bert told her never mind because of the dollars he received and expected to receive every month from Jim for the obscene pictures he sends to satisfy Jim’s lust.

After this last picture-taking, Nina and her mother already decided to file charges against Bert. Nina was examined by a doctor who confirmed that Nina’s hymen had lacerations which could have been caused by the penetration of a male organ.

So Bert was accused of willfully, feloniously and unlawfully raping his own daughter, a girl of 11 years. Bert and Jim were also charged with corruption of minor.

At the trial Nina and her mother Betty testified reiterating the above events that transpired. Also presented were the pictures of the many incidents particularly the picture requested by Jim and forcibly taken by Betty when her husband’s organ had already penetrated her daughter’s private parts and was on the verge of completely being inserted. For his defense, Bert claimed that no rape was committed because his penis was just attached to the lips of her daughter’s private parts and had not penetrated it as his penis was not erect.

But the lower court found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to suffer the penalty of reclusion

perpetua and pay Nina P30,000 as indemnity, P30,000 as moral damages and P20,000 as exemplary damages plus costs of suit. Was the trial court correct?

Yes. The SC ruled that Bert’s arguments are fallacious in the face of the damaging evidence of the Prosecution showing how he raped his daughter, particularly the testimonies of his daughter and wife Betty narrating how he had sexual intercourse with Nina, the medical report on the condition of Nina’s private parts after the rape showing the lacerations on her hymen and the actual picture of the rape. Actual rape is consummated even without full penetration or rapture of the hymen.

Against these four pieces of evidence, Bert’s assertion that his penis was just attached to his daughter’s vagina is plain nonsense. His daughter would not have cried out in pain if it were otherwise. Denial is the weakest defense against a positive testimony identifying the accused as the person who had sexual intercourse with the victim.

A close examination of the picture presented by the prosecution indeed shows the actual sexual intercourse between Bert and her daughter Nina with Bert’s organ almost completely inserted in Nina’s vagina. Under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, rape is committed by having sexual intercourse with a woman below 12 years of age even though no force or intimidation is employed on her. Bert is therefore guilty of rape beyond reasonable doubt. The indemnity he should pay should be increased to P50,000, aside from the moral and exemplary damages ( People vs. Navarro, G. R. 96251, May 11, 1993).

This may be one of the cases that triggered the enactment of RA 7659, approved on Dec. 13, 1993 restoring the death penalty on this kind of rape, otherwise known as incestuous rape.

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Email: attyjosesison@gmail.com