A former professional basketball player is in police custody after a couple accused him of sexual assault and physical violence inside a Bonifacio Global City bar, with the two complainants saying they rejected an out-of-court settlement and chose to take the matter to authorities.
According to an ABS-CBN report, the male complainant said he confronted Mark Cardona after his girlfriend told him the athlete had forcibly kissed her in the establishment’s smoking area following a chance encounter.
“Shock na shock siya, na hinalikan siya bigla. Kinonfront ko ‘yung lalaki kahit mas malaki siya. Lasing na lasing na po talaga siya. Pinakamalala doon, hindi lang girlfriend ko ang ginanun niya,” the boyfriend said.
The woman, 22, described being caught off guard when Cardona kissed her after they bumped into each other in the smoking area.
“We were going to the smoking area, nagkabump kami. I wanted to say sorry, then he kissed me bigla. I was so shocked, hindi ako nakareact agad. Hinatak niya ako, and he kissed me,” she said.
The confrontation that followed left the boyfriend with an eye injury. The couple subsequently went to police and filed formal complaints.
The boyfriend said Cardona’s attempt to resolve the matter with money was flatly refused. “Sabi niya pwede bang bayaran na lang. Sabi ko, ‘Hindi lahat nadadaan sa pera.’ If we allow this to happen, gagawin niya ulit ‘yan sa ibang babae,” he said.
Taguig City Police records show Cardona has a string of prior cases. Police Captain Ibralen Jain of the Women and Children Protection Section said these include alleged Anti-VAWC violations filed in 2016 and 2018, a 2021 case involving kidnapping and failure to return a minor, a physical injury case in 2018 stemming from an alleged assault on a live-in partner, and earlier cases involving alleged estafa and the pawning of a stolen vehicle.
Cardona and his legal counsel have not issued any statement. He faces expected charges of acts of lasciviousness and physical injuries.
