Rapist gets another jail term

A former Mandaluyong City Hall employee, already serving a prison sentence for rape, was sentenced anew to as much as 40 years in prison by a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC), again for rape.

Conde Estrada Rapisora, 37, was convicted by Manila RTC Branch 27 Judge Teresa Soriaso, relying on the actions of his victim, a 27-year-old mall saleslady following the rape on June 5, 1997, and the suspect’s inconsistent testimony. The victim is married and has one child.

The promulgation of Rapisora’s case last Friday was conducted at the Muntinlupa penitentiary, where he has been imprisoned for an earlier rape case. He was also sentenced to reclusion perpetua for the first offense.

Judge Soriaso, in her 12-page decision said, "It is rather clear that accused merely concocted his ‘sweetheart defense" to exculpate himself from criminal liability. It has been held in a long line of cases that this is a much-abused defense that rashly decides (on) the intelligence of this court and sorely tests its patience."

Rapisora testified in his defense that he and the victim met two weeks before the alleged time of rape along Boni-Edsa. He said that although he initiated the first contact, it was the victim who began calling him on the phone and they met again once before the reported rape.

The accused also claimed that it was the victim who set up their meeting on Martinez street in Mandaluyong from where they proceeded to a motel in Sta. Mesa, Manila. – Jose Aravilla