MODEL Deniece Cornejo and businessman Cedric Lee, and two other companions were sentenced to 40 years imprisonment by the Taguig Regional Trial Court following their conviction in connection with the serious illegal detention case filed by actor-host Vhong Navarro in 2014.
In a 94-page decision, the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC)-Branch 153 found Lee, Deniece Cornejo, Ferdinand Guerrero, and Simeon Raz guilty beyond reasonable doubt of serious illegal detention for ransom under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code.
The court sentenced them to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years imprisonment.
The Taguig RTC found Lee, Cornejo and their companions, Ferdinand Guerrero and Simeon Palma Raz, “guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of serious illegal detention for ransom,” a non-bailable offense, for which they are liable for reclusion perpetua, which carries a penalty from 20 to 40 years.
They were also ordered to jointly and severally pay P300,000 in civil indemnity and moral and exemplary damages.
Subsequently, the trial court canceled the bail bond the respondents posted at the start of the hearing. This means that they were automatically arrested during the promulgation of the case.
On Jan. 22, 2014, Navarro filed the case against Lee and the others who had illegally detained him after Cornejo had accused him of raping her.
