Rape-rap marines are freed

2005-12-29 14:12

Teresa Cerojano

Manila - Two United States marines, cleared in a case that has led to rape charges against four colleagues, have been released from US embassy custody and have returned to their home unit in Okinawa, Japan, an embassy official said on Thursday.

"Yes, they have been released," said a US embassy official who declined to be identified as she was not authorised to discuss the issue.

"Since all complaints against them have been dismissed by the (Olongapo) city prosecutor's office... they have returned to their unit in Okinawa."

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed rape charges against four other marines and the Filipino driver of their rented van before a regional trial court in Olongapo, near the site of the November 1 rape.

The complaint against the two others - lance corporal Corey Burris and lance corporal Albert Lara - was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Cheered on during 'rape'

Lawyers for the victim said on Wednesday they might file a motion for reconsideration to have Burris and Lara included among the accused.

In documents submitted to the court, Olongapo city prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni claimed that lance corporal Daniel Smith raped a 22-year-old woman inside a van at Subic Bay free port while his fellow marines cheered him on to the beat of loud music.

Subic Bay is a former US naval base northwest of Manila in the Philippines.

Also charged were lance corporal Keith Silkwood, lance corporal Dominic Duplantis and staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier.

Smith's lawyer, Benjamin Formoso, said on Thursday his client was not worried about the charge, saying Smith maintained he had "consensual sex."

"There was no force, no violence, no drugs whatsoever administered on her," Formoso said in a telephone interview. "There was no rape."

Battle about custody

Justice secretary Raul Gonzales said on Wednesday that a possible battle loomed about custody of the four accused marines, with Manila and Washington both insisting on custody.

Lawmakers and prosecutors urged the government to demand custody to ensure the men were charged, did not flee the country, and that the country's sovereignty was upheld.

The case, seen as a crucial test of an accord allowing American troops to train in the Philippines, will not affect bilateral ties, said presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye.

- AP