Supreme Court’s decision on charges of Deniece Cornejo vs Vhong Navarro
VHONG NAVARRO – The actor/television host was cleared of r@pe and acts of lasciviousness charges filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo, as the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division dismissed the charges.
The ruling was issued on February 8 and made public on March 13, overturning the Court of Appeals’ previous decision from July 2022 and September 2022 resolution, which directed the Department of Justice to prosecute Navarro.
The DOJ had previously dismissed Cornejo’s 2014 complaint against Navarro due to inconsistencies in her affidavits, but the CA had reversed this decision. However, the SC found that the CA made a grave error in ordering the revival of the r@pe case despite the inconsistencies in Cornejo’s statements.
“Indeed, no amount of skillful or artful deportment, manner of speaking, or portrayal in a subsequent court proceeding could supplant Cornejo’s manifestly inconsistent and highly deficient, doubtful, and unclear accounts of her supposed harrowing experience in the hands of Navarro,” the Supreme Court said.
Navarro was taken into custody in September of last year, but was able to pay a bail of P1 million and was released in December. He resumed his hosting duties on the television program It’s Showtime in January.
Meanwhile, it was in January 2014 when Cornejo filed a lawsuit against Navarro for purportedly s*xually assaulting her during a controversial incident that resulted in Navarro sustaining serious injuries.
Navarro claimed that he was assaulted and subjected to extortion by Cornejo, businessman Cedric Lee, and their associates. However, Cornejo’s supporters contended that Navarro’s injuries were caused when Lee and his group caught him trying to r@pe Cornejo.
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