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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Doc: Nicole may have been raped
MANILA -- A forensic gynecologist, who testified as an expert witness for the defense panel in the controversial rape case filed by a 23-year-old Filipino woman against four US servicemen, agreed with the prosecution that the lack of injuries does not necessarily mean the absence of sexual assault.
Grilled by State Prosecutor Hazel Valdez, Dr. Teresita Sanchez said it is possible for rape victims not to sustain injuries even external ones.
Sanchez earlier testified that Nicole did not exhibit injuries consistent with sexual assault victims.
"Yes it is possible for rape victims not to sustain external injuries depending on the circumstances," said the witness when confronted by Valdez with the medical literature, Book on Forensic Medicine that said 60 percent of sexual assault victims did not have injuries.
In her testimony last week before the sala of Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon, Sanchez pointed to the absence of injuries at Nicole's inner thigh and knees as evidence that she could not have been raped based on her long experience as a gynecologist and as a member of the National Bureau of Investigation forensic unit and medical literature.
Contusions
A prosecution witness, Dr. Rolando Ortiz, who examined the complainant a day after the alleged incident, testified that Nicole sustained contusion on her left and right arm as well as injuries to her genitalia that are commonly found in rape victims.
But Sanchez insisted that even if the amount of alcoholic drinks Nicole consumed on the night when the alleged incident took place made the victim drunk and in a "stupor," Sanchez said it doesn't mean she was totally helpless to fight off the alleged assault.
"Even if she's dead drunk she can still offer resistance," stressed Sanchez.
Too weak
Nicole admitted to the court that she drank several glasses of various alcoholic drinks and that she was too weak to resist the assault of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, whom she pointed as the one who raped her, while his colleagues, S/Sgt. Chad Brian Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood egged him on.
The prosecution argued that she was too drunk to give her consent to the act but Smith, backed up by his colleagues, told the court the act was consensual in nature.
Sanchez is the last witness for the defense panel who concluded their presentation after only six witnesses, including the accused and another US Marine, Lance Corporal Justin Michael Bamberger, who told the court that Nicole did not disclose she was raped.
Bamberger was a close friend of the complainant.
With the conclusion of both sides' presentation, the court set for Thursday next week as the date for the prosecution to present its rebuttal witness while ordering the defense to submit their formal offer of evidence before the end of the week.
Senior State Prosecutor Emelie de Los Santos said they will present US Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents Antonio Ramos and Guy Papageorge as their rebuttal witnesses.
They were expected to reiterate their earlier testimony that the accused were drunk and that Carpentier, who is the senior officer among the accused, told Smtih "to bring the girl" along.
Smith told the court in his testimony that his statement before the NCIS was "misquoted" while his lawyer, Benjamin Formoso' have asked the court last month to dismiss the "extrajudicial" confession of his client before the NCIS as he was not assisted by any counsel when he was interrogated a day after the alleged incident.
Defense counsel Ricardo Diaz said they are still considering if they would present a rebuttal witness after the prosecution although the Rules of Court allow them to do so.
The trial, which started last June, was fast-tracked by the court to meet the one-year deadline specified by the 1998 RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that prescribed limited immunity from prosecution of US personnel when conducting joint training exercises with their Filipino counterparts.
The accused had just participated in a joint military anti-terror training when the alleged incident took place. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of forty years in prison. (AH/Sunnex)
(September 26, 2006 issue)
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