US serviceman found guilty of raping Filipina

[samsungster]

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US serviceman found guilty of raping Filipina, 3 others acquitted

A US military serviceman implicated in the Subic rape case was found guilty by the Makati Regional Trial Court more than a year after the rape took place, ABS-CBN News reported.

Makati RTC Judge Benjamin Pozon of Branch 139, however, acquitted respondents Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis, and Keith Silkwood of the rape of the complainant "Nicole."

Pozon said respondent Daniel Smith is proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt for raping Nicole while she was dead drunk at the back of a Starex van. The rape took place during a short ride inside Subic Bay Freeport on the night of November 1 last year.

Nicole testified that she was drunk and helpless to stop Smith from raping her, as the other marines inside the van cheered him on.

"Smith raped me and they just dumped me on the pavement," Nicole said. "If I was not telling the truth, why would I put myself through this situation?"

Prosecution witnesses testified that the complainant was drunk and had to be carried on Smith's back into the van, then lifted out of the vehicle "like a pig" and left on a sidewalk with her pants down.

Smith, however, maintained that he and Nicole had consensual *** inside the van, and that the complainant was coherent throughout the time they were together. His co-accused denied abetting any crime inside the van and supported Smith's testimony that Nicole was a willing partner.

The case has stirred emotions in the Philippines and resurrected controversies linked to the US military's presence in the Philippines, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crack down on militants in the country's restive south.

The verdict was issued weeks before the mandatory one-year trial lapse under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The RP-US treaty stipulated that Philippine courts must render a decision on cases against American servicemen within a year or else lose the authority to compel them to appear in court. While Philippine and US authorities differed in interpreting the treaty, the VFA kept the accused under US custody throughout the four-month trial.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topoftheh...?StoryId=58249

[omad]

I hope this is the end of this saga..

[magma]

For Nicole...justice is served... :mrgreen:

[Sanosuke]

For Nicole...justice is served... :mrgreen:

I agree.. but this should be a lesson to all women, not to totally trust strangers...

[jojo_mouth2]

para nako, binuhatan na siya ni nicole nganong na-rape siya! basin naay nagsulsul niya na filan ug rape hoping na makakwarta! dapat gyud ni maleksyon sa tanan babae na hilig kaayo mag-kuyog kuyog sa mga foriegners bisan wa stranger!

naa man unta daghan mga pinoy deri na ganahan sad good time nganong didto man gyud siya sa kano

[samsungster]

this is not the end yet.. a motion for reconsideration could still be filed at the court.. if junked, the defense could go to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

the 3 US servicemen acquitted in the Subic rape are free to leave the country anytime now..

[Sanosuke]

I agree 'pre... I know being raped is awful, but in the first place, Y did she entertain total strangers and went out with the US marines?

As a filipino citizen, I am on the side of Nicole... but as a man, I understand the situation of the US servicemen.

[d`monyita]

ang sa akin lang ha... speaking as a woman... wag natin husgahan ang girlalu. NO IS NO no matter who you are and who you are with.

[angelfyre]

watever her motives where, if there were any, let this serve as a lesson to all , not to go out w/ total strangers [not just US marines] and get drunk in the back seat kng d pala kaya.

[godCode]

justice is served...

but lesson pud ni sa mga babaye na dili mag inom ug grabe and dili mo salig dayon ug strangers...