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People vs. Sarmiento

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. GAUDENCIO SARMIENTO, defendant-appellant.

G.R. No. L-46833 | 1979-12-28

D E C I S I O N

FERNANDO, C.J:

The belief shared by philosophers and jurists of the extreme difficulty that confronts the law in pursuance of moral values finds confirmation in the many instances of prosecutions for rape. 1 Apparently, the call of the flesh is at times much too insistent to be resisted. The hapless victim is thus left with no alternative except to prosecute the offender. Rightfully so, the Revised Penal Code 2 imposes a penalty ranging from reclusion perpetua to death. Never is such a response more justified than when the victim is a child of tender years. This appeal presents such a case, complainant being only eleven...