Supreme Court absolves rapist who married victim

MANILA, Philippines - A convicted rapist avoided life in prison after he married the woman who had accused him of rape.

The Supreme Court ruled that the marriage effectively extinguished Ronie de Guzman’s criminal liability.

“On several occasions, we applied these provisions to marriages contracted between the offender and the offended party in the crime of rape, as well as in the crime of abuse of chastity, to totally extinguish the criminal liability of and the corresponding penalty that may have been imposed upon those found guilty of the felony,” read the SC decision.

De Guzman submitted his certificate of marriage and copies of pictures taken after the ceremony to the SC. He married his wife inside the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa on Aug. 19 last year, a month after the SC affirmed his conviction.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura.

Associate Justices Renato Corona, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Mariano del Castillo and Jose Mendoza concurred with the ruling. In 1974, the SC made a similar decision.

De Guzman was convicted of raping the 14-year-old relative of his live-in partner in November 2000, and the Pasig regional trial court sentenced him to two life terms.

Three years before his conviction, the girl gave birth to a baby boy in February 1997.

In his defense, De Guzman said the girl was his sweetheart, and that their relationship had been kept secret because his live-in partner was her relative.

The court found De Guzman guilty of two counts of rape.        – Edu Punay