Corroboration of the Victim’s Testimony in Sexual Crimes According to Contemporary Peruvian Jurisprudence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51252/rcri.v6i2.1556Keywords:
due process, evidentiary assessment, presumption of innocence, circumstantial evidenceAbstract
The study analyzed the issue of corroborating the victim’s testimony in crimes against sexual freedom within the Peruvian legal system, considering the tensions between victim protection and due process guarantees. The research was justified by the need to clarify the evidentiary standards applied in cases where direct evidence is frequently absent. The objective was to examine the jurisprudential criteria developed by the Supreme Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court regarding the corroboration of the victim’s sole testimony. The methodology adopted was qualitative, with a dogmatic-legal and jurisprudential approach, based on the documentary analysis of six relevant judicial decisions and specialized legal doctrine. The findings revealed that Peruvian jurisprudence consolidated the requirement of objective peripheral corroboration aimed at verifying the credibility of the victim’s account through criteria such as consistency, coherence, and absence of subjective incredibility. It was concluded that corroboration does not constitute an additional requirement of full proof, but rather a standard of evidentiary sufficiency compatible with the presumption of innocence and effective judicial protection.
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