(Update) Smith: "We had sex inside van"

Accused US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith maintained in court Monday that he had consensual sex with "Nicole," denying that rape had occurred inside a van on the night of November 1 last year.

"I kind of asked jokingly if she wants sex here (inside the van), she said yes. I kind of looked surprised. So I started to getting undressed … and she did the same," said Smith, 21, the first defense witness to take the stand.

Under direct examination by defense counsel Ricardo Diaz, Smith said Nicole even assisted him in putting his condom on.

"She had her hands on my penis," Smith said.

The US marine added that he had sex with the complaint for only five minutes and that he did not ejaculate. Laboratory findings noted the absence of sperm on the condom allegedly used by Smith.

At the time of the supposed rape, Smith and the three other co-accused – Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier – were inside the van that would take them to USS Essex, and beat a 12-midnight curfew.

Smith also said he did not hear his fellow marines cheer him on, saying the noise could have just been "normal drunken laughter, but nothing directly towards us."

The alleged victim met Smith at the Neptune Bar inside the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales on November 1 last year.

"She (Nicole) was really a nice person to talk to. We were having a nice time. At the time, she did seem to like me as well," Smith said of Nicole.

Nicole, 22, was present during Smith's testimony at the sala of Makati regional trial court-Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon.

She sat expressionless as Smith took the witness stand.

The prosecution had earlier brought forward witnesses who testified that Nicole was drunk and not in control of her senses on the night of the alleged rape, and therefore could not have given her consent to sex.

Last month, a police crime laboratory expert testified that the DNA from the blood sample taken from Smith had matched the DNA material found on the underwear of Nicole.

The testimony of Inspector Edmar dela Torre, the last prosecution witness, however, was quickly dismissed by defense counsels as "irrelevant" to the case.

"It has no effect. It does not prove if there was sex or there was violence used. You cannot say if it was consensual. So it's irrelevant to us as far as we're concerned," said Antonio Rebosa, counsel for Duplantis. -GMANews.TV

US marine's DNA matches sample from Nicole's underwear

Article posted August 17, 2006, 5:01 pm

DNA from a blood sample taken from US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith matched the DNA material found on the underwear of the 22-year-old Filipino complainant in the Subic rape case, a police expert said Thursday.

Inspector Edmar De La Torre of the Philippine National Police-Crime Laboratory, who made the statement, was the 23rd and last witness brought forward by the prosecution.

Defense lawyers, however, were quick to belittle De La Torre's testimony, arguing it was "irrelevant".

"It has no effect. It does not prove if there was sex or there was violence used. You cannot say if it was consensual. So it's irrelevant to us as far as we're concerned," said Antonio Rebosa, counsel for Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis, one of four accused US marines.

Apart from Smith and Duplantis, also accused in the alleged rape of “Nicole" (not her real name) in Subic last November are Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporal Keith Silkwood.

Earlier, investigators said the victim's underwear bore DNA profiles of a male and female, which prompted the prosecution camp to seek DNA samples from the four accused US Marines.

Meanwhile, Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon, who is presiding over the case, ordered the resumption of the trial on September 11. The prosecution will be given seven days to wrap up its closing arguments; the defense will also have seven days to comment on the prosecution's case.

"That would give us time to prepare for presentation of our initial witnesses and evidence," Rebosa said. -GMAnews.TV