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PEOPLE vs Raul Berana y Guevarra

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAUL BERANA y GUEVARRA, accused-appellant.

G.R. No. 123544 | 1999-07-29

D E C I S I O N


ROMERO, J.:

In this sordid tale of defloration, a man is saved from the gallows for failure of the prosecution to adduce clear and positive proof of his relationship with the complainant.

Before us on automatic review is a decision rendered by the Regional Trial Court of Naga City, Branch 25, imposing the supreme penalty of death on herein accused-appellant, Raul Berana y Guevarra for the crime of rape.1 [Penned by Judge Jose T. Atienza]

The facts of the case are as follows:

On June 2, 1994 at around 2:00 o'clock in the morning, 14-year old Maria Elena Jarcia was sleeping with her four-year old niece in one of the...