La valoración de la prueba testimonial de la victima y el principio in dubio pro reo en el delito de violación

Abstract

The present research focuses on the analysis of the evaluation of the victim's testimonial evidence and the principle in dubio pro reo in the crime of rape. The issue is of special importance and topicality since being faced with a sexual crime that, due to its nature of being committed clandestinely without the presence of witnesses, there is a problem in placing the victim's testimony as a central element of the charge to enervate the presumption of innocence of the accused. The methodology used presents a type of documentary bibliographic research for the analysis of regulations, doctrine, jurisprudence and studies previously carried out, as well as field research for the collection of direct information from judicial practice; a qualitative approach was used by applying an inductive method when using the interview guide to obtain information that was aimed at judges, prosecutors and lawyers in free practice specialized in criminal matters. The work was developed under a line of research corresponding to Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure with a scientific novelty based on the "theory of cautions", structured by evaluation criteria to which the victim's sole testimony must be subjected. In this sense, it is established that such testimony must fully comply with the three criteria of credibility – absence of subjective incredibility, plausibility in the statement and persistence in the incrimination – in order to enervate the presumption of innocence, otherwise it is the obligation of the judge to apply the principle In dubio pro reo