The Philippines yesterday sentenced a US marine to 40 years in jail for the rape of a young woman that a court here described as "chilling, naked sadism."
Lance Corporal Daniel Smith showed no emotion as police led him away to his fate, while the victim burst into tears and her supporters cheered and shouted: "Jail the Americans!" Three other US marines were acquitted.
Suzette Nicolas, 22, was raped in the back of a rented van after a night out at the former US naval base of Subic Bay in November last year. The case unleashed a wave of anti-American protests and demonstrations.
"I felt sad that the three were acquitted but also happy that the other was convicted," Nicolas said on local television after the verdict was announced in a packed Manila courtroom.
The court ruled that the charges against three defendants, Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, had not been proven.
But it said it was "morally convinced" that Smith had committed "bestial acts" and "chilling, naked sadism."
The marine was remanded to a Manila city jail, and his lawyer said he would appeal.
Not since the 1960s has a criminal case involving US servicemen created so much bitterness and anti-American feeling than what became referred to as the Subic Bay rape case.
For many it has revived memories of the days of the "Ugly American," when US servicemen stationed in the Philippines were frequently accused of bad behavior and, it is claimed, sometimes literally got away with murder.
Smith's lawyer Ricardo Diaz said he would file a petition for habeas corpus before the Supreme Court to compel the lower court to remand the convicted Marine to US embassy custody while the conviction is under appeal.
He said this provision was clearly stated in the visiting forces agreement governing US forces accused of committing a crime in the host country while taking part in joint military exercises in the Philippines.
"The judicial proceedings in this case are not yet completed," Diaz stressed.
The Philippine government hailed the jailing of the US Marine.
"We laud the triumph of impartial justice," Ignacio Bunye, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman, said in a statement.
"The court maintained an even keel despite the tremendous pressures upon the bench. We have shown the world that due process is a hallmark of Philippine democracy," he said.
Bunye said the outcome would not affect Philippine-US relations.
"It's not about diplomatic relations but about universal justice and the rule of law," he said.
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, traveling in the southern island of Jolo to inspect a US-funded development project, told reporters she had yet to receive an official report of the verdict.
"But obviously this whole process has been difficult and emotional for everyone," she said.
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