Title
People vs. Toriaga
Case
G.R. No. 177145
Decision Date
Feb 9, 2011
A 13-year-old girl was raped and stabbed by a trusted family friend, who used an icepick to intimidate her. Despite his claims of consent, the court convicted him of rape, imposing reclusion perpetua and awarding damages.
rape
conviction
knifepoint
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 177145)

Factual Background

At the time relevant to the prosecution, Toriaga was not a “trivial stranger” to AAA and her family. AAA’s father was Toriaga’s close friend and “drinking buddy.” Moreover, CCC, AAA’s aunt, regarded Toriaga as a trusted employee in her balut selling business. CCC even provided Toriaga a sleeping area inside her house.

AAA, then thirteen years old, was alone in keeping watch of CCC’s house during the early evening of November 26, 1995, while CCC and her family were at church. At that time, Toriaga and AAA’s father were drinking at the father’s house, about twenty meters away from CCC’s house. After becoming drunk, Toriaga returned to CCC’s house.

AAA heard Toriaga knocking at around seven o’clock in the evening. She opened the door and allowed him to enter. She then watched television upstairs. Later, she went downstairs and found Toriaga opening his folding bed and switching off the lights, after which she sat on the stairs believing he would go to sleep. Her expectations were not met. Toriaga grabbed and poked an icepick at her neck, dragged her downstairs, and ordered her to strip and lie on the folding bed while pressing the icepick to her neck.

Fear compelled AAA to comply. Toriaga undressed and mounted her. He inserted his penis into her vagina, producing penetration that AAA felt. He remained on top for approximately ten minutes, stopping only after AAA pretended to lose consciousness. He lifted her and brought her upstairs and covered her mouth with a pillow while her body was again subjected to threats and violence. When she perceived the icepick being pressed into her stomach, she fought and parried, preventing penetration of her flesh. She then turned face down to protect herself, but Toriaga stabbed her back with the icepick.

Although she suffered pain, AAA kept silent and remained still, which caused Toriaga to stop stabbing her, likely because he believed she was already dead. AAA then heard Toriaga washing his hands downstairs. When AAA tried to rise, she heard him coming back, so she laid down again and pretended to be asleep. When he left and closed the door, AAA crawled to the window and shouted for help. Neighbors responded and brought her to a hospital for medical treatment.

The medico-legal findings showed multiple injuries, including sutured wounds with contused edges at the nape and posterior portions of the chest and back, and additional wounds and abrasions at the right hypochondrium and buttocks. The genital examination reflected trauma consistent with forced intercourse, including that the hymen remained intact but the hymenal orifice admitted a tube of two centimeters in diameter with moderate resistance, and the vaginal walls were tight with prominent rugosities.

Filing of Charges and Procedural History in the Trial Court

On November 28, 1995, the prosecution filed an information for rape in the RTC. It alleged that Toriaga, by lewd design and by means of threat and intimidation using a bladed weapon (knife), had sexual intercourse with AAA, then thirteen years old, against her will and without consent. A separate information for frustrated homicide was likewise filed.

The RTC initially consolidated the two cases. Toriaga pleaded not guilty to both charges on January 17, 1996. When he was later convicted in the frustrated homicide case, only the rape charge remained for disposition.

During the presentation of evidence for the accused, Toriaga sought leave to change his plea to guilty. Upon re-arraignment, he pleaded guilty to the rape information. He later withdrew that plea on November 20, 2000 after he was apprised of the imposable penalty and the consequences of his plea.

When the defense case proceeded, Toriaga denied raping AAA. He claimed he returned to CCC’s house and simply slept. He also asserted that BBB had instigated AAA to accuse him and to testify falsely against him due to a prior misunderstanding.

RTC Conviction

On February 26, 2002, the RTC convicted Toriaga of rape beyond reasonable doubt. It sentenced him to reclusion perpetua and imposed the accessory penalties. The RTC also ordered payment of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity and P75,000.00 as moral damages, with no subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. The RTC directed furnishing a copy of the decision to the Director of the New Bilibid Prisons because Toriaga was already serving sentence there for frustrated homicide in another case, to enable proper imposition of his sentence in the rape case.

CA Review and the Change in Defense

Toriaga appealed. The Supreme Court later transferred the records to the CA for intermediate review on September 6, 2004, conformably with People v. Mateo.

In the CA, Toriaga changed his defense for the first time from denial and alibi to the affirmative defense of consensual sexual intercourse. He insisted AAA had undressed herself freely and did not shout during the incident. He argued that, even assuming liability, he should be accountable only for qualified seduction, contending that he was a domestic within the meaning of the law.

The CA rejected these contentions. First, it found that Toriaga was not charged with custody or authority over the minor victim. Second, it held that AAA was not a member of CCC’s household and that Toriaga was not a member of the victim’s household. Third, the CA ruled that the rape complaint did not allege or embody the elements of seduction. It thus affirmed the conviction for rape.

Issues Raised in the Appeal

On further appeal, Toriaga maintained that the alleged intercourse was consensual. He relied mainly on the failure of AAA to shout and on the fact that he momentarily left her while he was busy undressing himself. He also pointed out that the proximity of the houses in the neighborhood should have emboldened AAA to put up resistance if the sexual encounter were forced, and asserted that her demeanor was inconsistent with that of an ordinary Filipina whose instincts would have prompted resistance.

He also persisted in his position that he should not be held liable for rape but only for qualified seduction by virtue of his supposed status as a domestic.

Supreme Court’s Ruling on Credibility and the Nature of the Sexual Intercourse

The Court did not credit Toriaga’s theory of consensual intercourse. It treated his belated affirmative defense as self-serving and unsupported. The Court held that the defense of consensual intercourse, like the “sweetheart defense,” required corroboration, and Toriaga offered none. It observed that Toriaga initially relied on denial and alibi. After those defenses failed, he later introduced consensual intercourse as an afterthought. For that reason, the Court accorded his new defense scant consideration.

The Court further noted that the physical evidence contradicted Toriaga’s narrative. It observed that AAA’s multiple injuries confirmed the use of brutal force and violence in the rape. The Court emphasized that the pattern and multiplicity of stab wounds negated the claim that the intercourse was consensual.

On the issue of qualified seduction, the Court agreed with the CA. It ruled that the information did not allege the elements of qualified seduction, particularly that: (a) the victim was a virgin; (b) she was over twelve and under eighteen years of age; (c) the accused had sexual intercourse with her; and (d) there was abuse of authority, abuse of confidence, or abuse of relationship.

Penalty and the Effect of the Use of a Deadly Weapon

The Court also sustained the penalty imposed by the RTC and affirmed by the CA. The information alleged the use of a bladed weapon in the commission of the rape. The Court invoked Article 335 of the Revised Penal

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