Ronnie de Guzman could have spent the rest of his life in prison.

He was sentenced in November 2000 by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to two life imprisonments for raping a 14-year-old girl in 1996.

The RTC verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeals and subsequently by the Supreme Court in 2009.

But as fate would have it, De Guzman was ordered released from the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City by the Supreme Court after he married his victim right inside the national penitentiary.

In a resolution penned by Associate Justice Eduardo B. Nachura, the SC’s Third Division absolved De Guzman of the two counts of rape against the private complainant “on account of their subsequent marriage” and ordered his release from jail.

Associate Justices Renato C. Corona, Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., Mariano C. Del Castillo, and Jose Catral Mendoza concurred in with the ruling.

De Guzman and his victim got married on August 19, 2009, inside the New Bilibid Prisons. The wedding was officiated by Rev. Lucas Dangatan of Jeruel Christ-Centered Ministries, Inc.

A month before the marriage, or on July 20, 2009, the SC affirmed his conviction on two counts of rape.

In absolving De Guzman, the SC held that his subsequent marriage to his victim effectively extinguished his criminal liability, citing Articles 89, in relation to Articles 344 and 266-C of the Revised Penal Code.

“On several occasions, we applied these provisions to marriages contracted between the offender and the offended party in the crime of rape, as well as in the crime of abuse of chastity, to totally extinguish the criminal liability of and the corresponding penalty that may have been imposed upon those found guilty of the felony,” the court said.

The SC said De Guzman’s case was first in 36 years, noting that the last suit bearing similar circumstances was decided by the court in 1974 in People v. Velasco, G.R. No. L-28081.

The High Court also said that based on the documents submitted, including certificate of marriage and copies of pictures taken after the ceremony, it found the union of De Guzman and his victim to have been “contracted validly, legally and in good faith, as an expression of their mutual love for each other and their desire to a family of their own.”

“Given public policy considerations of respect for the sanctity of marriage and the highest regard for the solidarity of the family, we must accord appellant (De Guzman) the full benefits of Article 89, in relation to Article 344 and Article 266-C of RPC,” it added.

In November 2000, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) sentenced De Guzman to two life imprisonments for raping his victim twice from May to August 1996 in Taguig, City.

The victim, who is a relative of De Guzman’s then live-in partner, was only 14 years old at the time.

Nine months after the first rape, the victim gave birth to a baby boy in February, 1997.

The victim alleged she was twice raped by De Guzman through the use of force and intimidation.

In his defense, De Guzman said the victim was his girlfriend although their relationship had always been kept secret for he was then living with his common-law spouse. As it happened, the victim shared the same house with Marissa, the former being an orphan who grew up in the care of Marissa’s mother.

After trial, the Pasig City RTC found De Guzman guilty as charged and imposed on him the penalty of life imprisonment for each count. It further ordered him to indemnify the victim P50, 000 in each case or a total of P100, 000 as civil indemnity.