US Marine accused of rape seeks acquittal

The principal accused in the Subic rape case asked the court yesterday to acquit him of charges that he raped a 23-year-old Filipina on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith told the Makati Regional Trial Court that the woman known only as "Nicole" accused him and three other US Marines of rape to protect her relationship with an American boyfriend.

In a 52-page memorandum filed 30 days after Judge Benjamin Pozon ended the marathon hearings and set a promulgation date, Smith’s lawyers said their client did not rape Nicole on Nov. 1 last year at the Subic Bay Freeport.

Smith said Nicole met, kissed, danced, and had consensual sex with him inside a van, and therefore he should be cleared of the charges of rape.

Smith told the court how he met Nicole at the Neptune Club, how they got along well, and how she allegedly went with him and had sex with him willingly inside the vehicle as it was driven from the nightspot to the Alaba Pier, where his ship, the USS Essex, was docked.

Smith’s lawyers said that based on the evidence presented by both camps, "the prosecution was unable to prove the guilt of accused Daniel Smith by the required quantum of evidence."

"It is respectfully prayed that this honorable court rule for an acquittal," lawyers Benjamin Formoso, Ricardo Diaz, and Patricia Formoso said.

"In all criminal cases, all doubts should be resolved in favor of the accused on the principle that it is better to liberate a guilty man than to unjustly keep in prison – or worse, sentence to death – one whose guilt has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

"It is necessary to set aside issues, comments and opinions because, at its core, this honorable court is called upon to decide on whether or not the crime of rape was in fact committed.

"The answers lie not on the external matters that have managed to cloud this case, but on what transpired between two individuals on the night of Nov. 1, 2005."

Smith’s memorandum recalled the court testimonies of Nicole, Smith, and his co-accused Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, and S/Sgt. Chad Carpentier, defense expert witness Teresita Sanchez, and other witnesses.

Prosecutors from the Department of Justice and private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua are expected to file their memorandums today.