SC upholds conviction of man who raped lover

CEBU, Philippines - The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of the lower courts convicting a man for raping a 17-year-old girl in 2008.

The SC, in its decision penned by Division Clerk of Court Wilfredo Lapitan of the third division, said the “sweetheart defense” of accused-appellant Jay-R Catague cannot outweigh the victim’s testimony that she was raped against her will.

 “Victim’s testimony positively identifying accused-appellant as the one who sexually abused her is worthy of belief. Her clear, consistent and categorical statements, unrelentingly established that the accused-appellant had carnal knowledge of her when he brought her to the lodge, despite her resistance,” the decision reads.

Catague defended that what transpired on February 3, 2008 between him and the victim was a “mutual passion which resulted to a consented sexual intercourse,” claiming that the two of them were “romantically” involved for over a year.

He added that what happened inside the lodge was merely the “fulfillment” of the victim’s promise that she would give her virginity to him before she turns 18 years old.

However, Catague’s statements contradicted those of the victim’s.

According to the victim, Catague was a textmate who eventually became her lover. She said she was clueless that he had a live-in partner while they were in a relationship.

On Feb. 3, 2008, the two of them agreed to meet at the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City. She said Catague grabbed her hand and they boarded a public utility jeepney.

She was brought to a lodge where Catague sexually abused her despite her please not to, she said.

Catague appealed his case after the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Regional Trial Court on April 30, 2013, finding him guilty of rape and sentenced him to 20 to 40 years in prison.

But the SC also affirmed the decision of the lower courts and ruled in favor of the victim, saying a rape victim is not expected to make “an errorless recollection of the incident, so humiliating and painful” that she might in fact be trying to wipe out it from her memory.

“As to the sweetheart defense, it is said that love is not a license for lust. A love affair does not justify rape for a man does not have the unbridled license to subject his beloved to his carnal desires against her will. In this case, the defense that the accused-appellant and victim are lovers may be true; however, the sexual incident between them on February 3, 2008 has not been proven to be consensual,” the decision further reads.

Aside from the civil indemnity and moral damages awarded to the victim amounting to P100,000, the SC also awarded her P30,000 as exemplary damages. —NSA (FREEMAN)