The judge rejects the claim of innocence, upholding the 16-year-old girl’s testimony of being molested 3 times within the Bishop’s Residence
BAGUIO CITY — A Catholic priest, who had managed a popular church-run radio station in the summer capital, was convicted of raping one of the church’s teen scholars in 2023.
In promulgation proceedings on Thursday, Baguio City’s Regional Trial Court Judge Modesto Bahul of Branch 2-FC (Family Court) sentenced Fr. Mark Elis Batolne to life imprisonment for molesting the then 16-year-old girl on March 8, March 12 and March 28 in 2023.
The incident marked as a first major scandal to hit the Diocese of Baguio in recent years.
READ: Priest’s rape trial set
The girl, in her testimony, said Batolne had carried a knife when he first assaulted her on March 8 and March 12 at her room in the attic of the Bishop’s Residence, according to court…
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