Case Digest (G.R. No. L-7083)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Albert Ernest Wilson, G.R. No. 135915, December 21, 1999, the Supreme Court En Banc, Gonzaga-Reyes, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee was the People of the Philippines; the accused-appellant was Albert Ernest Wilson (also referred to as "Suny" or "Kano"). The prosecution charged Wilson with rape under Section 11 of Republic Act No. 7659.On September 16, 1996, twelve-year-old Veronica Pasco (referred to as Nica), assisted by her father, executed an extrajudicial sworn statement at the Valenzuela police station stating that the accused had previously raped her on June 27 and July 12, 1996 and that he attempted to rape her again on September 16, 1996 but she ran away. A criminal complaint for attempted rape (September 16 incident only) was filed. On September 17, 1996 Dr. Rosaline Cosidon performed a medico-legal examination and found shallow healed hymenal lacerations at the 5 and 7 o'clock positions and concluded the subject was a non-virgin; no fresh lacerations or external signs of recent trauma were observed.
Following the medico-legal findings and a contradistinct second sworn statement by Nica (executed the same day) asserting that the accused had in fact consummated the rape on September 16, 1996, the prosecutor moved for reinvestigation. An Amended Information charging consummated rape on September 16, 1996 was filed on September 18, 1996 (the Information did not charge the earlier dates as separate counts). The accused was arraigned October 18, 1996 and pleaded not guilty.
At trial Nica testified in detail that the accused dragged her to a bedroom at about 4:30 p.m. on September 16, 1996, undressed her, positioned himself on top of her and inserted his penis into her vagina; she escaped when the telephone rang. Dr. Cosidon confirmed the medico-legal report in court and testified that healed, not fresh, hymenal lacerations were present and that lacerations generally take several days to heal. The accused denied the charge; his brotherly co-resident witness, Jay‑R (Nica’s brother), testified the household (mother, Nica, the accused and Jay‑R) were at home that afternoon and that Nica left the house earlier, which the defense argued made the alleged consummation impossible.
...(Subscriber-Only)Issues:
- Did the material variance between the complainant’s extrajudicial sworn statement and her in-court testimony (attempted rape vs. consummated rape) fatally prejudice her credibility so that the conviction cannot stand?
- Did the medico-legal findings—absence of fresh hymenal laceration or signs of recent trauma—negate the allegation of consummated rape and create reasonable doubt?
- Did the uncontradicted testimony of the defense witness (the victim’s brother) and the accused’s denia...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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