Misamis Oriental judge accused of sexual abuse

A Regional Trial Court judge based in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, was recently preventively suspended by the Supreme Court pending the investigation against him after he was accused of sexual abuse by two women.

The complainants, both married, accused judge Rexel Pacuribot of sexually abusing them on two occasions, one of them is a stenographer of RTC Branch 27 presided by Pacuribot, while the other woman is a clerk of the Gingoog City Parole and Probation Office.

The SC ordered Pacuribot to submit his comment about the separate complaints of sexual abuse filed against him by the two women.

The SC's public information office -through its website- published the details of the complaints against Pacuribot.

It was stated that the stenographer's ordeal started in August 2004 when she refused an invitation from Pacuribot to have dinner. On October 4, 2004, Pacuribot sent her a text message saying that his blood pressure went up because she refused to go out with him.

On October 20, 2004, the stenographer was attending a wedding at a hotel in Cagayan de Oro when Pacuribot called her on the mobile phone asking when she will be back in Gingoog City. She told the judge that she will leave immediately after the wedding and she will just take a taxicab to the Agora Terminal, but Pacuribot said he would fetch her from the hotel.

The stenographer declined the offer but Pacuribot angrily insisted saying he was already waiting outside the hotel. The scared stenographer was forced to get in the car. However, instead of bringing her to the terminal, Pacuribot reportedly brought her to a motel where he sexually abused her. When she protested, the judge reportedly told her: "Shut up! As if you are a virgin!"

Back in the office, the harassment allegedly continued. Whenever the stenographer would go inside the judge's chamber, the latter reportedly mashed her breasts and touched the crotch of her pants. Meanwhile, the probation clerk said she received amorous text messages from Pacuribot with invitations for dinner. She was wary of these invitations because both of them were married.

One time she got a call from Pacuribot who was furious. According to him, he was an honorable person and yet she refused his invitations. Consumed by fear, she finally relented and accepted a dinner invitation on February 22, 2005.

While inside his car, the judge reportedly displayed his firearm, which was allegedly for security purposes, but the clerk became scared. Instead of going to a restaurant, Pacuribot reportedly drove to a drive-in motel where he reportedly sexually abused her.

From that day, Pacuribot constantly demanded that the clerk send him text messages and letters expressing sweet nonsense, any failure or refusal would be met by a threat to divulge the incident in the motel.

The complainants filed their complaints personally before the Office of Deputy Court Administrator Christopher Lock.

Although the stenographer and the clerk knew each other professionally, their meeting at the said office was purely coincidental and each of them said they had no idea that the other had a complaint against the judge. Both of them tearfully related to Lock their harrowing experience at the hands of the judge.

The SC said Pacuribot will be immediately suspended until further notice and he is directed to answer the complaints against him. - Rene U. Borromeo