PHILIPPINES: Philippine court finds one of four U.S. Marines guilty of raping a Filipino woman at a former U.S. navy base

Record ID: 827447

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: Philippine court finds one of four U.S. Marines guilty of raping a Filipino woman at a former U.S. navy base
  • Date: 4th December 2006
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF AMERICAN DEFENDANTS, LANCE CORPORAL DANIEL SMITH, LANCE CORPORAL KEITH SILKWOOD, LANCE CORPORAL DOMINIC DUPLANTIS AND STAFF SERGEANT CHAD CARPENTER ARRIVING AND MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Reuters ID: LVADTAAITT5QQ8ZZQJ8HTQJ4TQ20
  • Story Text: A Philippine court on Monday (December 4) found one of four U.S. Marines guilty of raping a Filipino woman inside a van at a former U.S. navy base last year, sentencing the 21-year-old sailor to life in prison for "bestial acts".
    The three other Marines were acquitted after a seven-month trial, which prompted small protests against U.S.-Philippine military ties and intense local media interest.
    "The prosecution having presented sufficient evidence against Lance Corporal Daniel J. Smith also of the US Marines Corp. assigned to the USS Essex, this court here by finds him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape, defined under article 266 - A, paragraph 1A of the revised penal code," a clerk said on Monday (December 4), reading out the decision of Judge Benjamin Pozon to a hushed, packed courtroom.
    The verdict, which included an order for Smith to pay 50,000 pesos ($1,000) in damages to the victim, will automatically go to a higher court for review.
    Smith, standing before the clerk along with his co-accused, did not flinch when the verdict was given but a quick volley of applause broke out inside the court.
    The victim, known in the media as "Nicole", burst into tears and said "Thank God".
    Smith will be temporarily held at a city jail in Manila while the two governments, bound by a Visiting Forces Agreement, resolve where he should serve his sentence. Smith's lawyers said they would appeal against him being sent to the jail.
    "Because we believe that the detention of Smith even temporarily at the Makati jail is not in accordance with the Visiting Forces Agreement," said Ricardo Diaz, defence lawyer for Smith, after the verdict was announced.
    The other three Marines are expected to return to their unit in Okinawa, Japan.
    On the streets outside the court, 300 protesters, mainly women, cheered and punched the air triumphantly. Placards read "Jail the Rapists" and "U.S. troops out now".
    The controversial case put the spotlight on Manila's close relationship with Washington, with critics arguing the Visiting Forces Agreement gives U.S. soldiers too much protection.
    The U.S. embassy had kept custody of the Marines since the case began when the woman, a 23-year-old management accounting graduate, accused the sailors of raping her in November 2005 after the sailors ended two weeks of military exercises.
    "The verdict, while we are happy with the conviction of at least one US marine, it goes to show the weaknesses, the difficulties in prosecuting any American soldier under the current Visiting Forces Agreement. It has become difficult to gain the custody of the suspects, it has become difficult to really investigate the incident," said protest leader, Renato Reyes, amidst scenes of celebration.
    Pozon said Smith knew the woman was drunk and could not have consented to sex.
    The Marines said only Smith had sex with the woman and that it was consensual. They claimed the woman was being manipulated to incriminate them.
    The charges did not trigger a major public outcry or widespread anti-American sentiment in the Philippines, the only former U.S. colony in Asia and a country with close economic, cultural and family ties to the United States.
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