US Marine in rape: Sex consensual

One of the US Marines accused of raping a Filipina in Subic, Zambales last Nov. 1 has admitted having sex with the woman inside a van but insisted it was consensual, according to documents from the US Naval Criminal and Investigative Service (NCIS).

The document, which summarized the answers of four US servicemen allegedly involved in the rape case, was the result of interrogation made by investigators from the NCIS and submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The document contained narrations from Daniel John Smith, Chad Brian Carpentier, Keith Garin Silkwood and Dominic Phillip Duplantis.

The document pointed only to Smith as having had a sexual act with the Filipina complainant.

According to the document, Smith met the 22-yeaar-old Filipina after he arrived at the Neptune Club with Duplantis, Silkwood and two other servicemen, Corey Burris and Albert Lara.

Smith then danced with the Filipina for 40 minutes.

Thereafter, S/Sgt. Chad Carpentier arrived at the club and told the Marines that it was time to go. Carpentier allegedly told Smith that "he could bring the girl."

The Marines then got inside the van and Smith sat with the complainant on the back seat.

Smith thereafter "had sex with the girl who was a willing partner and never said stop to what he was doing."

The US servicemen in the van "knew he was having sex with the girl and cheered him on," Smith added.

When someone yelled that the woman was a bitch, "she became very mad," according to Smith’s account. Smith allegedly tried to calm her down and then told the complainant that he had to get back to the ship.

Smith then let the Filipina out of the van, "saw her pants were down and felt bad about it."

Smith allegedly "thought of getting her a taxi, but time was so short so he ran to the ship," which was docked at the Subic freeport zone.

In the same document, Carpentier, Silkwood and Duplantis confirmed that it was only Smith who had sex with the complainant.

Carpentier said he noticed that Smith was at the back of the van with the woman, but only heard someone saying that Smith had had sex with her.

However, Carpentier noticed that when the complainant was getting out of the van, "he noticed that she had one pants leg on and one off."

Silkwood, meanwhile, said he could hear Smith and the woman kissing in the back seat. Next thing he knew, "Smith was halfway on top of her."

"Smith was rocking his hips back and forth like he was having sex with the girl," Silkwood said.

Silkwood, however, "did not say anything because he didn’t think it was a big deal and it wasn’t his business."

He added that he did not hear the complainant tell Smith to stop or see any struggle.

When Burris and Lara were picked up by the van, "Burris and Lara looked at Smith and saw that he was having sex with the girl," Silkwood said.

At the drop-off point, Silkwood said the woman had her shirt on but the jeans were not on all the way and he could see her panties.

Silkwood added that the woman "appeared to be a willing partner" and that he did not see Smith forcing himself on her.

Duplantis, meanwhile, said he also observed Smith in the back seat with a local woman.

"Smith and the local girl were kissing and being playful; girl appeared alert and talkative; she did not appear to be distressed," Duplantis said in the document.

When the door of the van opened as they picked up Burris and Lara, Duplantis "glanced at the back of the van and saw Smith on top of the girl, humping."

Duplantis said he did not acknowledge to Burris or Lara that he saw Smith having sex with the woman.

He also did not hear any disturbance, arguing or complaining from Smith or the woman, and did not hear any cheering or anyone calling the woman a "bitch."

According earlier accounts, however, the complainant was already intoxicated when she was left by companions at the Neptune Club in the night of Nov. 1.

According to officers on duty that night, the victim left the club in the company of some American servicemen and boarded a van.

A few hours later, the complainant was reportedly dropped off near the SBMA Telecommunications building, near the Alava Pier where the Marines’ ship, the USS Essex, was docked.

Some bystanders said the woman was half naked and seemed dazed.

A medical examination showed that the woman had contusions all over, indicating that she fought her attacker.

Doctor Rolando Ortiz II, who did the examination, said she had "contusions on her left and right forearms, some parts of the torso and also on her right eye."

He also confirmed that there was sexual intercourse.

Following the filing of the rape complaint, the Department of Justice put the Olongapo City prosecutors office in charge of the preliminary investigation.

Olongapo City Chief Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni summoned the suspects, ordering them to submit their sworn statements on Nov. 23 and 29.

Smith, however, had refused to answer the criminal complaint. According to Smith’s lawyer, Atty. Benjamin Formoso, his client could not respond to "piecemeal" submission of statements and evidence by the complainant and witnesses.

Jalandoni later included the van’s driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr. as a suspect for ignoring summonses from authorities to give his side of the story.

Soriano had earlier claimed in a statement that the woman was gang-raped but later recanted his story, claiming he was coerced by the police to implicate the six Marines.

"The implication is that he is making a mockery of the investigation and that he wanted to destroy the evidence of the victim, as well as his own evidence that he had submitted to us," Jalandoni told The STAR.

Soriano also failed to appear during the preliminary probe ordered by the prosecution, which puts him under suspicion of withholding information.

Yesterday’s third hearing were cut short following disagreement over Soriano’s inclusion as a suspect.

His lawyer, Raul Paras, argued there is no complaint against his client. "Soriano is neither a witness for the respondents not is he a respondent to this case," he told Jalandoni. "Based on the records and evidence found, there is no formal complaint against my client which justifies the need to submit a counter-affidavit."

The driver was first considered a key witness, but in television and radio interviews later he said he had been punched twice by a police investigator to force him to sign a statement saying the woman was gang-raped by the Marines.

Jalandoni has also directed both the complainant and the six accused to submit their written comments on the case on Dec. 14. He also ordered Soriano to file his counter-affidavit through his lawyer, Paul Paras, on Dec. 9.

Jalandoni and assistant prosecutor Raymond Viray said they need the documents before they can issue a resolution on the complaint.

The case is considered a crucial test of the Visiting Forces Agreement, a 1999 accord with the United States that governs the treatment of US military personnel who run afoul of the law.

Critics, including a number of lawmakers, called for a review of the VFA.

US embassy officials earlier said they would fully cooperate with the investigation.

The incident sparked anti-US protests and condemnation by leftist and women’s groups, and calls for the government to detain and rapidly prosecute the Marines.