SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija — A former vice mayor of Pantabangan in this province was meted reclusion perpetua after he was found guilty of two counts of rape.
In its verdict handed down Monday, the Regional Trial Court Branch 38 here also ordered former vice mayor Romeo Borja, Jr. to pay the now 22-year-old victim PHP100,000 in moral damages and provide support to the baby, the fruit of the supposed sexual assault.
Also, the court ordered the transfer of Borja from the detention facility here to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
The court, however, cleared Borja of the 20 other counts of rape that the then 17-year-old complainant alleged to have happened sometime from 2009 to 2011, for lack of evidence.
The court ruled that Borja was guilty for the two counts of rape which happened in Oct. 23, 2009 and March 23, 2010.
The complainant told the court she was taking care of the former official’s child when he supposedly forced her to have sex with him.
Knowing that Borja was in power, the victim said she feared for her life thus, she kept mum about the incident.
The victim gave birth to a baby girl on February 1, 2012.
Garbriel Partylist Rep. Emmy De Jesus who attended the promulgation lamented that it took almost five years before justice was delivered to the victim. (PNA)