U.S. Marine Convicted in Philippines
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dec 4, 6:55 AM EST
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U.S. Marine Convicted in Philippines*
By TERESA CEROJANO
Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A U.S. Marine was convicted Monday of raping
a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison, ending an
emotional trial that has strained U.S.-Philippine ties and tested a
joint military pact.
Three other Marines and their Filipino driver were acquitted of complicity.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, 21, from St. Louis, was the first American
soldier convicted of wrongdoing in the Philippines since the country
shut down U.S. bases here the early 1990s. His lawyer, Ricardo Diaz,
said he would appeal.
Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl.
Dominic Duplantis, who had been accused of cheering Smith on, were freed.
Smith, who was in the country for joint training, did not deny having
sex with the 23-year-old woman but testified that it was consensual.
The court said the woman, known publicly by her pseudonym "Nicole," was
so intoxicated that she could not have consented to sex, pointing to
testimony that Smith carried her to a van where the incident occurred on
Nov. 1, 2005.
"He was the one who was on top of the complainant, who resisted his
kisses, pushed him and fought him back until she lost consciousness
because of alcoholic drinks she had taken," said the decision by Judge
Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court. A court employee read
the decision live on national television.
Pozon said in English that the severe penalty was aimed "to protect
women against the unbridled bestiality of persons who cannot control
their libidinous proclivity."
Some cheers and applause broke out in the courtroom, and Nicole began
weeping as supporters embraced her.
"We're very happy, we laud Judge Pozon for showing courage and judicial
independence," the woman's lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, said.
About 100 protesters had gathered outside the courthouse, demanding the
government scrap the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement that allows U.S
troops to train with Philippine troops after the Philippine Senate
ordered U.S. bases shut down in the early 1990s.
Under the pact, the Marines were placed under U.S. custody during the
court proceedings.
The U.S. military presence in the Philippines has been credited with
helping Filipino troops crack down on Muslim militants in the country's
south but activists have rallied against the treaty, saying it favored
Washington.