PSG man, village chair get life terms for rape

MANILA, Philippines–A member of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) and a barangay official have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the illegal trafficking and rape of a 15-year-old girl at the PSG barracks in San Miguel, Manila, three years ago.

In the Nov. 20 decision, Barangay 637 Zone 65 chair Angel Murillo was found guilty of human trafficking for pimping the 15-year-old girl to Army Staff Sgt. Walter Candelaria who was assigned to the PSG.

The soldier was also convicted of human trafficking and child abuse for raping the victim around 11:30 p.m. on June 20, 2011, inside the Valdez Mansion, otherwise known as the PSG barracks.

Judge Emily San Gaspar-Gito of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 5 ordered both men to pay a fine of P2 million each for violating Republic Act No. 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

Murillo was also banned for life from holding any government position and directed to pay the victim an additional P600,000 for moral and exemplary damages.

According to court records, the victim was forced by Murillo to get into a car with Candelaria. She was taken to the PSG barracks and molested by the soldier. After Candelaria drove the victim home, she told him she would report the incident but he told her that he did not care and left.

Murillo, meanwhile, denied the charge and said that when he saw the victim out on the street that night, he approached her and her companion, Candelaria, to tell them to go home because it was already late.

For his part, Candelaria told the court that the teenager offered to have sex with him for P1,000. He was further ordered by the court to pay the victim P30,000 in damages.