Art.
338. Simple seduction. — The seduction of a woman who is
single or a widow of good reputation, over twelve but under eighteen years of
age, committed by means of deceit, shall be punished by arresto mayor.
Elements:
1. That the
offended party is over 12 and under 18
2. That she
must be of good reputation, single or widow
3. That the
offender has sexual intercourse with her
4. That it is
committed by means of deceit
Example
• The accused went to the house of his fiancée, her parents then
being absent, and availing himself of that opportunity, with a renewal of his
promise to make he his wife, he succeeded in having sexual intercourse with
her. Held: The accused is guilty of simple
seduction. Deceit, the usual form of which being an unfulfilled promise of
marriage, is an important element of the offense.
The offended girl must be over 12 and under 18
• If she is under 12, the crime is rape, even
if the offender succeeded in having sexual intercourse with her by means of
deceit.
• If she is over 18, there is no force or
intimidation or she is not unconscious or otherwise deprived of reason, there
is no crime even if the accused has sexual intercourse with her. This is true
even if deceit is employed by the accused.
Virginity of the offended party is not required
• It is not essential in simple seduction that
the woman seduced be a virgin, as all that is necessary is that she is of good
reputation.
• But a woman who had illicit relations with a
number of men prior to accused’s
sexual intercourse with her, is not of good reputation.
There must be sexual intercourse
• If there is no sexual intercourse and only
acts of lewdness are performed, the crime is acts of lasciviousness.
Deceit generally takes the form of unfulfilled promise
of marriage and this promise need not immediately precede the carnal act.
• Promise of marriage must be the inducement
and the woman must yield because of the promise or other inducement. If she
consents merely from carnal lust, and the intercourse is from mutual desire,
there is no seduction.
May the man who is willing and ready to marry the girl
seduced by him be held liable for simple seduction?
• It is believed that he is liable. Because his
willingness to marry her may still amount to deceit, not by itself but by
attending circumstances vitiating such willingness, as when the man knows that
the girl cannot legally consent to the marriage, and yet he makes a promise to
marry her. The consent of the parents cannot be taken for granted, as in
majority of case, parents would not consent to the marriage of their young
daughter.
Deceit consisting in unfulfilled promise of material
things
• If a woman, under 18 but over 12, agrees to
sexual intercourse with a man who promised to give her precious jewelry, and
the man never fulfills it, there is no seduction because she proves to be a
woman of loose morals. She is a high-class prostitute.
Promise of marriage by a married man, whom the woman
knew to be married, is not deceit because it is clear that there was no
reliance on the promise.
Promise of marriage after sexual intercourse or after
a woman has yielded her body to the man’s illicit embraces, does not constitute deceit.
No continuing offense of seduction.
Purpose of the law in punishing simple seduction
• Not to punish illicit intercourse but to
punish the seducer who by means of promise of marriage, destroys the chastity
of an unmarried female of previous chaste character, and who thus draws her
aside from the path of virtue and rectitude and then fails and refuses to
fulfill his promise, a character despicable in the eyes of every decent,
honorable man.
Simple seduction vs. qualified seduction
1. Offended Party
SS - woman is single
or a widow of good reputation
QS - woman is a
virgin (morally)
2. Offender
SS - offender may be any person
QS
- offender is any person in public authority, priest, house servant, domestic,
guardian, teacher or any person entrusted with the education or custody of the
woman seduced
3. Age of offended party
SS - the victim is always over 12 but under 18
QS - the victim may be
over 18 when the offender is the brother or ascendant
• Only the crime of rape and seduction carry the element of sexual intercourse (other than adultery and concubinage). In forcible abduction, when sexual intercourse occurs, the crime is Forcible Abduction with Rape (complex crime under Article 48) because forcible abduction does not involve sexual intercourse as an element.
Sources:
Leonor D. Boado, Notes and Cases on the Revised Penal Code, 2004 ed.
Luis B. Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Book II, 2001 ed.
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