Monday, July 10, 2006
Nicole to resume testimony in rape trial today
MANILA -- The 22-year-old woman who has accused four US Marines of rape is set to resume testifying Monday, after a breakdown delayed her return to the witness stand, prosecution lawyers said.
The woman, whose court-assigned pseudonym is Nicole, has already recovered from the emotional stress and fatigue she suffered after two days of rest, said her lawyer Evalyn Ursua.
Nicole on Thursday identified Lance Corporal Daniel Smith as the US Marine who allegedly raped her on November 1.
Before she could provide details of the alleged assault, she broke down, prompting Makati RTC Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon to adjourn the hearing until Friday.
Prosecutors have said Lance Corporal Keith Silkwood, Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier cheered Smith on as the rape took place inside a moving van at the Subic Bay free port, a former US Naval base.
The woman failed to appear in court on Friday and her psychiatrist, June Pagaduan Lopez, said her client was "re-traumatized" after spending nearly three hours on the witness stand where she broke down four times
Ursua said her client had expressed readiness to continue her testimony on Monday.
"Nicole has already recovered from the stress and fatigue, and she said that she is prepared even for the cross-examination of the defense counsels," Ursua said.
Ursua said that what really stressed "Nicole", aside from the long hours in the witness stand, was facing directly the accused and their counsels while recalling the incident.
The US Navy Criminal Investigation Service, in a report on its interrogation of Smith after the incident, quoted him as saying the woman he met and danced with in a bar "got into the van willingly" and that "he thought the sex with her was consensual."
"The female was a willing partner and never said to stop what he was doing," added the report.
It quoted Smith as saying the woman "seemed to be intoxicated" when he met her at a bar in Subic.
Smith said that when he and the other Marines "let her out of the van," he saw her pants down and "felt bad about what had happened," but did not have time to get her a taxi because he had to rush back to his ship, the report said.
Smith belongs to the 31st US Marine Expeditionary Force who had just concluded anti-terror drills with Filipino counterparts when the alleged rape took place.
During the fast-track proceedings to beat a one-year deadline for the case, several witnesses have testified that the intoxicated woman was seen carried out of the bar on Smith's back, and into the van.
Other witnesses said they later saw the Marines take the half-naked woman out of the van and leave her on a sidewalk.
The woman testified Thursday she had been intoxicated while dancing with her sister at the Neptune bar, when Smith grabbed her by the wrist to dance.
She said that she was scared because she didn't know who Smith was, and that she had turned to a US Navy man, a family friend from southern Zamboanga city, who said it was okay to dance with the Marine while allegedly telling Smith, "Just take care of her."
She testified that she had continued to drink, and was then forced out of the bar.
"The next thing I remember, someone was lying on top of me," she said, before breaking down in tears. "Someone was kissing me. It was Smith."
The Marines have refused to answer the rape charges, punishable by up to 40 years in prison, prompting the judge to enter an innocent plea for them. Defense lawyers insist Smith had consensual sex with the woman.
Aside from Nicole, the prosecution is also set to present this week Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist as an expert witness to render her opinion on the case; Dr. Orlando Ortiz, the medico-legal officer of the James Gordon Hospital where the complainant was brought for examination after the incident; Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the Starex van where the alleged incident took place; and a toxicologist and forensic psychiatrist before wrapping up their presentation.
The defense will present eight witnesses including Dr. Teresita Sanchez, a forensic doctor and specialist, to rebut Fortun's testimony for the prosecution. (AP/Sunnex/With AH)
(July 10, 2006 issue)
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