The Davao City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the rape, child abuse, and human trafficking charges against the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and five other church members.
A woman who filed the criminal complaints claimed the “The Appointed Son of God” Quiboloy raped her while another church member “paddled” her with a piece of wood. She also said they forced her to do caroling, beg for money, sell food, and solicit money when she was a minor.
The charges were made against Quiboloy, Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes.
According to the complainant, she and her sister joined the KJC in 2012.
She accused Quiboloy of raping her in 2014 when she was 17 years old. The prosecutors, however, cited “inconsistencies” in her statements, dismissed the complaint for “insufficiency of evidence and lack of probable cause.”
The prosecutors added the woman did not accuse Quiboloy of using force, threat, or intimidation, nor that she put up “tenacious and aggressive resistance” against the religious leader’s alleged advances. They said no evidence would prove Quiboloy used his influence over the woman.
“Abuse of influence cannot simply be inferred from the seeming influence that the respondent had over the complainant arising from his position in their organization; the same must be proven with evidence,” prosecutors said.
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Rape, trafficking raps vs Quiboloy junked by Davao prosecutors
The complainant also claimed that Cresente hit her and her sister with a paddle when they were minors. The prosecutors, however, said she failed to prove that the paddling was used to debase or humiliate them.
Prosecutors said the “paddling” was instead a “disciplinary action” because the sisters allegedly did not clean their restroom and leave a dirty bag on their bed.
“It can be fairly inferred that the respondent merely intended for the complainant and her sister to correct their behavior and for them to follow the rules,” prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, for the ill-treatment or slight physical injuries accusations, prosecutors said the offense had already prescribed as she only filed the complaint more than five years after the alleged incident.
Prosecutors also said there was not enough evidence of psychological and emotional abuse.
They also said the acts of selling food, caroling, and soliciting are “innocuous, “non-illegal” and were “merely income generating activities needed by any organization to financially survive.”