The Taguig City prosecutor’s officer has filed two cases of rape and acts of lasciviousness against comedian-TV host Vhong Navarro, and were raffled off to two different trial judges on Thursday.
The rape case went to Judge Loralie Datahan of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 69, while the acts of lasciviousness charge went to Judge Angela Francesca Din of RTC Branch 116.
The prosecutors earlier filed a criminal case before the court against Navarro for the alleged rape of model Deniece Cornejo sometime in 2014.
In a charge sheet filed before the Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) prosecutors accused Navarro of raping Cornejo in her rented condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City on January 17, 2014.
The information was signed by Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Irish Kay del Valle, dated August 9, but was made public only on Friday.
Navarro’s lawyers were able to obtain on the day before that, a court order signed by Taguig RTC Branch 267 Executive Judge Antonio Olivete, holding off the raffle of the rape case until his pending motions before the Court of Appeals (CA) are resolved.
The criminal cases were filed after the CA granted the petition of Cornejo challenging the junking of rape charges she filed earlier against Navarro before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ junked Cornejo’s rape complaint against Navarro for lack of probable cause, citing her inconsistent statements.
Navarro’s lawyer Alma Mallonga said they were very surprised by the CA resolution, saying the rape allegations of Cornejo had been consistently dismissed multiple times.
Cornejo, along with her former boyfriend-businessman Cedric Lee, were convicted in July, 2018 for grave coercion charges filed by Navarro, who was allegedly mauled and illegally detained by Cornejo and her companions in her condominium unit on January 22, 2014.
Navarro also claimed that they forced him to sign a police blotter falsely admitting that he raped Cornejo.