Dennis da Silva to serve life sentence over rape, child abuse convictions

A former member of the 80s-90s "That's Entertainment" television show was found guilty of 15 counts of rape and sentenced to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, Marisol Abdurahman reported Tuesday on 24 Oras.

Former actor Dennis Da Silva was arrested in 2002 for raping the 14-year-old child of his previous live-in partner.

Aside from the rape convictions, Da Silva was also sentenced with four to six-year prison sentences for four counts of child abuse.

Da Silva was also ordered to pay the victim at least P100,000 for each civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages or P300,000 for every count of rape, leading to a total of more than P4 million.

He was also asked to pay more than 300,000 for the child abuse convictions.

Though Da Salvi could apply for a conditional pardon and community or good conduct time allowance, he first needed to pay all the damages.

Da Silva was given 15 days to appeal to the court's decision.

The former actor, who was detained at the Pasig City Jail during the 17-year duration of his trial, had claimed that he and the minor were in a relationship.

In an interview 13 years after his arrest, Da Silva said he had changed during his time in jail and wished to be freed.

"Makalaya ako. At secondly, yung family ko, sana hanggang sa huling laban, andyan sila para sa akin. Ako'y naniniwala sa lahat tayo ay may pag-asa," Da Silva had said.

A member of the then-popular youth-oriented show "That's Entertainment", Da Silva's fame grew when he became linked to actress and former co-star Ruffa Gutierrez.

He was cast in several films, but his career withered after he allegedly became involved in drugs. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News