Filipino who accused Marine of rape changes story

[Teacher Mark 53]

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A Filipino woman whose accusations of rape led to the conviction of a U.S. Marine has altered her testimony and emigrated to the United States, saying she was no longer certain that a crime took place, a lawyer said Wednesday.

The case has strained U.S.-Philippine military relations amid calls for the scrapping of a pact allowing U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers, and has become a rallying point for anti-American protests.

Three years after Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted of rape and sentenced to 40 years in jail, his accuser submitted a five-page affidavit to an appeals court Tuesday saying she now doubts her own version of events.

"My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith ... that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away,'' the woman said in the statement.

She described the two were drinking, kissing and dancing at a bar at the former U.S. Naval base at Subic Bay before moving to a van, where she originally told the court she was raped while she passed out. Smith had insisted the sex was consensual.

The turnabout has shocked her supporters, including lawyer Evalyn Ursua, who said her client terminated her services this week then moved to the U.S. to start a new life and was no longer willing to talk.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the woman could be charged with perjury and her affidavit may not be admitted as new evidence because it should have been introduced during the 2006 trial.

"I am not happy with her because her accusations divided the nation, then she turns her back on everything,'' he said, adding the case had affected the country's foreign policy.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is consulting with American government legal experts in Washington on the case, embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said, without elaborating. She refused to comment on reports that the woman had gone to the United States.

Smith, 23, from St. Louis, Missouri, has been detained at the U.S. Embassy while his case is on appeal. Last month, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled he should be serving his sentence in a Philippine jail but left it to the government to negotiate his transfer with Washington. Smith is appealing his conviction.

AP-ES-03-18-09 0113EDT

http://wvgazette.com/News/200903180039

[kape_at_pandesal 0]

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A Filipino woman whose accusations of rape led to the conviction of a U.S. Marine has altered her testimony and emigrated to the United States, saying she was no longer certain that a crime took place, a lawyer said Wednesday.

The case has strained U.S.-Philippine military relations amid calls for the scrapping of a pact allowing U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers, and has become a rallying point for anti-American protests.

Three years after Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted of rape and sentenced to 40 years in jail, his accuser submitted a five-page affidavit to an appeals court Tuesday saying she now doubts her own version of events.

"My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith ... that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away,'' the woman said in the statement.

She described the two were drinking, kissing and dancing at a bar at the former U.S. Naval base at Subic Bay before moving to a van, where she originally told the court she was raped while she passed out. Smith had insisted the sex was consensual.

The turnabout has shocked her supporters, including lawyer Evalyn Ursua, who said her client terminated her services this week then moved to the U.S. to start a new life and was no longer willing to talk.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the woman could be charged with perjury and her affidavit may not be admitted as new evidence because it should have been introduced during the 2006 trial.

"I am not happy with her because her accusations divided the nation, then she turns her back on everything,'' he said, adding the case had affected the country's foreign policy.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is consulting with American government legal experts in Washington on the case, embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said, without elaborating. She refused to comment on reports that the woman had gone to the United States.

Smith, 23, from St. Louis, Missouri, has been detained at the U.S. Embassy while his case is on appeal. Last month, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled he should be serving his sentence in a Philippine jail but left it to the government to negotiate his transfer with Washington. Smith is appealing his conviction.

AP-ES-03-18-09 0113EDT

http://wvgazette.com/News/200903180039

she led people to believe she was the victim but i think she really is not. if she was really raped it would have been very traumatizing for her, but hearing the news that she made it to the US (on what type of visa?) and has a new american boyfriend, makes me question was it a traumatic experience for her that she even wanted Daniel Smith to get death penalty....

she should be tried for perjury and get deported back in the Philippines...you cannot just ruin a guy's life and enjoy yours.

she doesnt have the right to step on US soil!

----just an opinion----

[Reba 2]

How did she manage to immigrate to the US? Did she use the sympathy card and they gave her a free pass or something? I'd really want to know, because if that's how she got in, they need to turf her #### out!

Is LCpl Smith going to be released, with no blemish on his record now? Or is he going to have to live the rest of his life as a registered sex offender?

[almaty 19]

He was convicted..until that is over-turned ..he is a criminal by alw

[panamania79 2]

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A Filipino woman whose accusations of rape led to the conviction of a U.S. Marine has altered her testimony and emigrated to the United States, saying she was no longer certain that a crime took place, a lawyer said Wednesday.

The case has strained U.S.-Philippine military relations amid calls for the scrapping of a pact allowing U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers, and has become a rallying point for anti-American protests.

Three years after Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted of rape and sentenced to 40 years in jail, his accuser submitted a five-page affidavit to an appeals court Tuesday saying she now doubts her own version of events.

"My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith ... that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away,'' the woman said in the statement.

She described the two were drinking, kissing and dancing at a bar at the former U.S. Naval base at Subic Bay before moving to a van, where she originally told the court she was raped while she passed out. Smith had insisted the sex was consensual.

The turnabout has shocked her supporters, including lawyer Evalyn Ursua, who said her client terminated her services this week then moved to the U.S. to start a new life and was no longer willing to talk.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the woman could be charged with perjury and her affidavit may not be admitted as new evidence because it should have been introduced during the 2006 trial.

"I am not happy with her because her accusations divided the nation, then she turns her back on everything,'' he said, adding the case had affected the country's foreign policy.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is consulting with American government legal experts in Washington on the case, embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said, without elaborating. She refused to comment on reports that the woman had gone to the United States.

Smith, 23, from St. Louis, Missouri, has been detained at the U.S. Embassy while his case is on appeal. Last month, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled he should be serving his sentence in a Philippine jail but left it to the government to negotiate his transfer with Washington. Smith is appealing his conviction.

AP-ES-03-18-09 0113EDT

http://wvgazette.com/News/200903180039

You can't rape the willing.

[sj5 4]

She likes to date drunk men so she can accused them for such thing then feel guilty later. However, if she was raped then she shouldn't feel bad for Smith.

Edited March 19, 2009 by sj5

[angela920 0]

yea that is also my question... how the heck did she get an immigrant visa??! for a typical Filipino like her ( i mean like.. no stable job, no business, no money to support herself) it seems impossible. Am i just losing my mind?

[shang 0]

yea that is also my question... how the heck did she get an immigrant visa??! for a typical Filipino like her ( i mean like.. no stable job, no business, no money to support herself) it seems impossible. Am i just losing my mind?

Some speculations running that it may be part of a deal regarding with the case...WHo knows....WHy the hell would she change her statement?

[amerasianlove 0]

yea that is also my question... how the heck did she get an immigrant visa??! for a typical Filipino like her ( i mean like.. no stable job, no business, no money to support herself) it seems impossible. Am i just losing my mind?

I think she is engaged with US citizen,that's what I have heard on the news.

[archie07 0]

She apparently couldn't leave the filipines with the appeals pending unless she recanted her story and fired her lawyer. . This whole case was a crock of sh** to begin with. The cops found her with her pants on backwards on the side of the road drunk. The Gabriela jumped right on it because he was an american soldier and they wanted the VFA scrapped.

Her lawyer and the judge were trying to make a name for themselves. Soriano, the cab driver tried to testify for the marines but they threatened to charge him with perjury. I've been talking to Dan Smith for 3 years while he's been incarcerated at the embassy. Once he wins his appeal he will be home soon. Her first american boyfriend dumped her so she found another one to petition her. I think she should be charged with perjury for taking 3 years of the mans life but the end result it will work out better for Dan. She recants her story but still takes the 2500 from his attorneys. Good luck to whoever petitioned her.

[*Robert* 2]

As someone who served in the US Navy, pulled into Subic Bay more times than I can count, and was TDY in Cubi Pt. for over 6 months, this story doesn't surprise me at all. I saw this $hit happen all the time. That's why every time we went out on liberty, we always had to be careful about our SSNs and our full names. If some girl with alterier motives got a hold of that information, she could press trumped up charges against an innocent Sailor or Marine, forcing them to either suffer the consequences, or "pay them off".

The $hit I saw in the PI would blow most peoples minds. That's why the other thread in OT doesn't surprise me either.

[Reba 2]

My hubby James told me the speech that he used to get before going out on leave. It's quite humorous really the way he said it, but obviously necessary.

I hope the Marine gets released and has his record wiped. And I hope they deport her #### back to the Phils.

[Niels Bohr 72]

She wanted to be in the US. Because he didn't want to marry her after the fact, she decided to get back at him.

[Carlos and Jocel 2]

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A Filipino woman whose accusations of rape led to the conviction of a U.S. Marine has altered her testimony and emigrated to the United States, saying she was no longer certain that a crime took place, a lawyer said Wednesday.

The case has strained U.S.-Philippine military relations amid calls for the scrapping of a pact allowing U.S. troops to train Filipino soldiers, and has become a rallying point for anti-American protests.

Three years after Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted of rape and sentenced to 40 years in jail, his accuser submitted a five-page affidavit to an appeals court Tuesday saying she now doubts her own version of events.

"My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith ... that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away,'' the woman said in the statement.

She described the two were drinking, kissing and dancing at a bar at the former U.S. Naval base at Subic Bay before moving to a van, where she originally told the court she was raped while she passed out. Smith had insisted the sex was consensual.

The turnabout has shocked her supporters, including lawyer Evalyn Ursua, who said her client terminated her services this week then moved to the U.S. to start a new life and was no longer willing to talk.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the woman could be charged with perjury and her affidavit may not be admitted as new evidence because it should have been introduced during the 2006 trial.

"I am not happy with her because her accusations divided the nation, then she turns her back on everything,'' he said, adding the case had affected the country's foreign policy.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is consulting with American government legal experts in Washington on the case, embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said, without elaborating. She refused to comment on reports that the woman had gone to the United States.

Smith, 23, from St. Louis, Missouri, has been detained at the U.S. Embassy while his case is on appeal. Last month, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled he should be serving his sentence in a Philippine jail but left it to the government to negotiate his transfer with Washington. Smith is appealing his conviction.

AP-ES-03-18-09 0113EDT

http://wvgazette.com/News/200903180039

I don't know the whole story and I wasn't there but this is really sucks me being a soldier hearing this and coming from that country where I was born. Maybe she was GRANTED a visa to the US in an exchange for something.... change testimony or whatever reasons. But it takes one bad publicity from a local citizen to strain a good relationship of the soldiers to that host country. When I was in the Philippines, I can easily SPOT a soldiers from the crowd and I usually tell them my rank, my service and give them some few words... be careful, have a good time and try not to make it obvious that you are a soldier. IE talking about what they do in their services...! People listen and watch...

[aljhel 0]

First off...PHILIPPINE GOV'T DOESNT HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THIS.

SECOND: UNIFORMED CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE APPLIES TO THIS.

Thirdly, How does an american man get 40 years for rape when the normal sentacing there is 10-15?

Thank you Phil gov't for the STRAIN!

She apparently couldn't leave the filipines with the appeals pending unless she recanted her story and fired her lawyer. . This whole case was a crock of sh** to begin with. The cops found her with her pants on backwards on the side of the road drunk. The Gabriela jumped right on it because he was an american soldier and they wanted the VFA scrapped.

Her lawyer and the judge were trying to make a name for themselves. Soriano, the cab driver tried to testify for the marines but they threatened to charge him with perjury. I've been talking to Dan Smith for 3 years while he's been incarcerated at the embassy. Once he wins his appeal he will be home soon. Her first american boyfriend dumped her so she found another one to petition her. I think she should be charged with perjury for taking 3 years of the mans life but the end result it will work out better for Dan. She recants her story but still takes the 2500 from his attorneys. Good luck to whoever petitioned her.