A Filipina used her fists yesterday to attack a US Marine she has accused of rape as she headed toward the witness stand to testify, witnesses said.
The 22-year-old woman, known in court by the pseudonym "Nicole," last week identified Lance Corporal Daniel Smith as the man who allegedly raped her on Nov. 1 last year inside a van.
As she was walking toward the witness stand to resume her testimony in Makati Regional Trial Court in Manila, she suddenly turned toward Smith and started hitting him with her fists. Her mother claimed Smith had apparently tried to trip her.
Court officials and US embassy staff quickly moved to separate them, and the woman was led away by her lawyer, Evalyn Ursua.
Smith was sitting with the three other Marines -- Lance Corpora Keith Silkwood, Lance Corpora Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier -- who also are charged in the case for allegedly cheering Smith on.
After the commotion, the Marines -- who could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted -- were surrounded by embassy personnel and Smith was moved to another bench in the courtroom.
The woman testified last Thursday that she was intoxicated while dancing with her sister at the Neptune Bar when Smith grabbed her by the wrist to dance.
She testified that she'd continued to drink, and was then forced out of the bar.
"The next thing I remember, someone was lying on top of me," she said, before breaking down in tears. "Someone was kissing me .... It was Smith."
The woman told the court yesterday that Smith kissed her and she tried to resist but could not push him away "because I was very weak and he was heavy."
"I did not like what he was doing to me," she said.
The Marines have refused to answer the rape charges, prompting the judge to enter an innocent plea for them. Defense lawyers insist Smith had consensual sex with the woman.
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