Uncle gets 10 years for molesting niece

OVER two cases of sexual abuse filed by a niece, the Family court found the accused Benedicto Guibone guilty beyond reasonable doubt on one case and acquitted him on the other for insufficient evidence. In a decision penned by Judge Teofilo Baluma, September 28, the court also ruled out a minimum of ten years of prision mayor to 14 years and eight months and a day of reclusion temporal minimum, along with accessory penalties provided by law. Moreover, the court orders the accused to pay the victim P20T in moral damages.

The verdict came after the accused entered a not guilty plea over two counts of sexual abuse on a 7 year old minor in Panglao. Lawyer Margie Tan-Alvaro assisted Guibone. In her sworn affidavits, the victim whose name Post withheld for obvious reasons, accuses her uncle, his father's first degree cousin of intent to abuse with lascivious conduct.

The victim, assisted by her parents testified that the accused has at least done sexual advances to the victim by touching her private part twice, once in August 2002 and a repeat in November 2003. The victim, in her appearance at the Family court presided over by Judge Baluma positively identified 61 year old single Guibone, who lives in a hut about a few meters from their house as the culprit. Over the categorical positive identification, Guibone had only a denial and an alibi for his defense.

As the court determined the child victim as competent to testify, it also considered that the victim may vacillate in her testimony knowing that a seven year old in her first taste of the court can not be expected to make an errorless narration. This, as long as the court is still satisfied with the credence of the testimonies of the first sexual abuse case. As to the second and yet similar case of sexual abuse, the court found the victim miserably failing to paint a credible picture that the court was compelled to acquit the case failing to prove the accusations beyond reasonable doubt.

In these considerations, Judge Baluma ruled the accused guilty of violating section 5b in relation to sections 3b of republic Act 7610 for the first offense and acquitted him on the second offense. Guibone still has to serve the verdict for the first, even as he has served penalty in preventive suspension since December 2004. Despite that, he may still have a long way to do time until he could roam freely again.

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