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Friday, December 01, 2006
Nicole confident of conviction for US Marines accused of rape (12:45 p.m.)
MANILA -- A Filipino woman who filed rape charges against four US Marines said she was confident the American servicemen will be convicted when a Philippine court issues its verdict Monday.
"I am really angry at them," the 23-year-old woman, identified in court only as Nicole, told The Associated Press in an interview late Thursday. "I could not forgive them, not unless they tell the truth and they repent for what happened."
She said if she had her way, she would like them to face the death penalty.
If convicted, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis could face up to 40 years in prison. Smith is accused of carrying out the rape, the other three men of complicity.
"I am confident that they will be convicted because our evidence is strong," she said, adding that she looks forward to putting the case behind her and moving on with her life, perhaps overseas.
She testified that she was drunk and too weak to stop the Nov. 1 assault by Smith, as the other Marines inside the van laughed and listened to loud music. The incident happened inside a moving van at the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay, she said. The Marines had just finished a counterterrorism exercise in the northern Philippines.
Prosecution witnesses testified Nicole 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, 21, of St. Louis, Missouri, has maintained the sex was consensual, and his fellow Marines have backed his testimony.
"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?"
She said she was proud that she pursued the case. She hopes the first rape case against a U.S. serviceman to go to trial in the Philippines will embolden rape victims.
"I stood firm not only for myself, for my family, but also for our country," she said.
The case has stirred emotions in this former US colony and resurrected controversies linked to the U.S. military's presence in the Philippines, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crack down on Muslim militants in the country's restive south.
Nicole said she had no intention of stirring anti-American sentiments.
"I only want to get justice," she said. "My only concern is that I told the truth."
The AP's interview request with Smith was turned down, but in a recent interview with ABS-CBN television, he maintained no rape occurred and said he was confident he would be acquitted.
"The strongest defense is truth," he said. "I'm pretty sure the judge and everybody can see that I was telling the truth and I speak the truth when I talk."
In his testimony, he said Nicole was a willing partner and that she helped him put on a condom. (AP) |
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