Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Martinez couple rejects Geisler's offer of compromise
SHOWBIZ couple William and Yayo Aguila-Martinez on Tuesday spurned the offer of an out-of-court settlement by fellow actor Baron Geisler in exchange for the dropping of the acts of lasciviousness charges filed by their 21-year-old daughter last April.
During preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Salvador Panelo, legal counsel of victim Patrizha Marie, formally turned down Geisler's offer of compromise, saying his client is not interested.
Panelo said Patrizha remained intent in pursuing the case.
"It's too late for such a settlement offer. We believe that this is a good time to teach him (Geisler) a lesson. The only door open for him now is the door to jail," Panelo said.
Last April, Patrizha filed the suit against the former Pinoy Big Brother housemate before the DOJ, stemming from an incident that occurred inside the Fiamma Bar in Makati City where Geisler allegedly made lewd advances towards her by touching her breasts and asking her to have sex with him.
Geisler retaliated by filing perjury raps against Patrizha's mother for allegedly making false and fabricated statements against him.
Yayo said in her affidavit executed last July 2 that while the respondent was under the influence of liquor, the actor also made sexual advances to her and other female PBB participants in their December 2007 presentation.
She further said that Geisler also tried to molest her in a party held at the Makati Sports Club the following month, and that he even created a scene when he was accosted by Martinez and other sponsors.
She said she did not file charges because she wanted Geisler, who had been close to her inside the PBB house, to redeem himself.
In her complaint, Patrizha claimed that she texted several friends to come and join them at Fiamma Bar. One of those she texted was Geisler. Geisler later called her and appeared in the bar.
She said Geisler told her when he arrived at the bar that he had already drunk a bottle of wine and some beer.
After a while, Patrizha said Geisler left her group when his friends arrived. After an hour, she saw Geisler and asked him if he was still okay. He then asked her if she could count his change since he was already very drunk.
Patricia said it was then that Geisler suddenly embraced her, asked her if she had a boyfriend and told her to have sex with him.
She added that Geisler apologized for his statement, but then touched her breasts. She said she could not react at first for fear she might create a scene and hurt her parents' reputation. (ECV/Sunnex)
