PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES v.

MARLON BARSAGA ABELLA

G.R. No. 177295
January 6, 2010
FACTS:
For review is the decision of the Court of Appeals which affirmed with modification the Judgment of the trial
court convicting accused-appellant of the crime of rape.
AAA, the rape victim, is 38 years old who had a moderate mental retardation or intellectual quotient of a 7
to 8 year old child. She narrated that sometime at around 1:00 oclock in the afternoon while she was alone
at home the appellant entered their house and started molesting her. Appellant pulled down her shorts with
his left hand while covering her mouth with his right hand. Appellant then placed himself on top of her and
inserted his penis into her vagina. At that time, she did not shout as the appellant was holding a knife.
AAA did not tell her parents about the rape incident. Several months after the incident, her stomach
became big. Thinking that she was just ill, she drank some bitter solution upon her mothers instruction. As
her stomach continued to grow, AAA was forced to tell her mother about the rape incident. Thereafter, AAA
consulted a doctor who confirmed that she was pregnant. Consequently she gave birth to a baby girl.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the accused- appellant is guilty of the crime charged although his actual participation in the
alleged act was not proven with certainty
RULING:
Yes. Article 266- A of the Revised Penal Code provides that the crime of rape is committed by a man
having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances: (1) through force, threat or
intimidation (2) when the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious (3) by means of
fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority and (4) when the offended party is under 12 years of
age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
In People v. Andaya, it was held that "sexual intercourse with a woman who is a mental retardate with the
mental age of a child below 12 years old constitutes statutory rape" with or without the attendance of force,
threat, or intimidation.
In this case, the prosecution has established that the accused-appellant had carnal knowledge of AAA, a
demented person, through force, threat or intimidation. AAA was psychiatrically evaluated as an adult
woman with the mental age of a 7 to 8year old child and that she gave birth to a child despite her mental
inability to give her consent to a sexual relationship. These facts support the allegation of sexual abuse.
AAA also identified without uncertainty the accused-appellant as her rapist and related distinctly that he
forcibly laid her down, held her at knifepoint, and sexually abused her.