Dennis Cornejo Speaks on Court Verdict against Daughter Deniece
Dennis Cornejo, the father of model Deniece Cornejo, believes that his daughter is a victim of a “trial by publicity”.
One of the longest issues that have hooked the national attention involved model Deniece Cornejo, actor-TV host Vhong Navarro, and businessman Cedric Lee among the popular personas in the case. The issue stems from a January 2014 incident involving the mentioned individuals.
Vhong and Deniece had different versions of what really happened when he visited her condominium unit. The Showtime host stood firm on his plea that he did not anything against the model who had accusations against him.
Cedric claimed that they were in the rescue of Deniece. In September 2022, Vhong surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following the release of an arrest warrant against him over the case filed by Deniece.
In December 2022, the court allowed Vhong Navarro to post bail at Php 1 million for his temporary liberty. Presiding Judge Loralie Cruz Datahan stated that the evidence provided by the prosecution against Navarro were too weak to permit the continued detention of the TV host pending the trial of the case.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court 3rd Division junked the cases filed against Navarro. Here’s what the high Court stated:
“Indeed, no amount of skillful or artful deportment, manner of speaking, or portrayal in a subsequent court proceeding could supplant Cornejo’s manifestly inconsistent and highly deficient, doubtful, and unclear accounts of her supposed harrowing experience in the hands of Navarro.”
In May 2, 2024, the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) found Deniece Cornejo, Cedric Lee, Simeon Raz, and Ferdinand Guerrero guilty of illegal detention case filed by Vhong Navarro. However, based on a report on Pep, Dennis Cornejo, the father of the model, believes that his daughter is a victim of “trial by publicity”.
“Trial by publicity ang nangyari sa amin, e. Kami, mga simpleng tao lang kaya durog na durog kami talaga,” Dennis Cornejo told Pep in an exclusive interview.
Based on the article, meanwhile, the father of Deniece stressed that they respect the decision of the Court. He admitted that it is very painful for them and he has been carrying the anger, sadness, and everything since the day that the incident happened.
“Pero ang nagpapalakas sa akin, yung faith ko sa Diyos,” Dennis Cornejo said.
According to the father of the model, when his daughter texted her that there will be a promulgation on May 2, he wished her good luck and told her to keep her faith. He also advised his daughter to accept whatever will happen.
Aside from Dennis Cornejo, the grandfather of Deniece Cornejo also reacted to the guilty verdict of the Court against his granddaughter. Nahatulan siya ng habambuhay na pagkakabilanggo.