SC upholds guilty ruling

CEBU, Philippines - The Supreme Court has affirmed the decisions of the lower courts convicting a man from Carcar City, Cebu for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl.

In the seven-page decision penned by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, the SC found no grounds to reverse the ruling of the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals holding Raul Sato criminally liable for statutory rape.

“In the same vein, (Sato) appellant’s denial is inherently weak and constitutes self-serving negative evidence, which cannot be accorded greater evidentiary weight than the declaration of credible witnesses who testify on affirmative matters,” the decision reads.

The SC affirmed Sato’s 20 to 40 years of imprisonment without eligibility for parole.

It likewise ordered the accused-appellant to pay the victim P75,000 for civil indemnity and P30,000 as exemplary damage.

Sato, a fisherman, denied raping the girl, saying the case filed against him was just out of ill motive by the parents of the victim. He claimed that he would only often scold the victim for allegedly hurting his youngest son.

The appellate court, however, ruled in favor of the victim, stating that it was unthinkable for the girl’s parents to drag their daughter into a rape scandal with all its “attendant humiliation.”

The SC also gave the victim’s testimony more credence compared to Sato’s alibis, adding that considering the age of the minor, she could not have invented a horrible story.

On September 10, 2004, Sato raped the victim, while her cousin watched. He gave the victim P5 after the incident and threatened to kill her and her parents if she tells them what happened.  (FREEMAN)