US Marine leaves Philippines after court acquittal

MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Marine whose rape conviction was overturned by the Philippine appeals court has left the country, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

The news that Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith had “departed the Philippines under the authority of United States military officials” came a day after the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s sentence — a decision that sparked protests, including one Friday in which about 200 demonstrators tried to march to the embassy before they were stopped by police.

Three years ago, Smith was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for raping a Filipino woman after a night of drinking.

The emotional case soon turned into a political tug-of-war between the government — keen on maintaining smooth relations with its key ally — and nationalist, left-wing and women’s rights activists eager to showcase that the Philippines can do without U.S. protection.

Smith spent only about three weeks in a Philippine jail before U.S. officials obtained custody, arguing that the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries allowed them to hold the Marine until his legal appeal was resolved.

The U.S. Embassy statement did not say when Smith left the country or where he was headed and the embassy spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for details.

“This has been a difficult and emotional case for all involved, especially their families and loved ones. We hope that the parties can now move on with their lives,” the statement said.

Philippine Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus, who had been monitoring Smith’s detention, said he was disappointed that U.S. authorities did not inform him that Smith had been flown out of the country.

He told ABS-CBN television that Smith may have been returned to his unit, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, to face court martial proceedings over the incident.

Smith was accused of raping the woman in a van in the presence of other Marines, after the two met in a bar at the former U.S. Subic Bay Naval base in 2005, while Smith was on leave after taking part in military exercises.

During a dramatic yearlong trial at a suburban metropolitan Manila court, the woman broke down and said she was too drunk to stop Smith’s assault. At one point, she attacked him with fists while walking to the stand.

Smith, 23, of St. Louis, Missouri, insisted the sex was consensual.

In acquitting Smith, the appeals court said “no evidence was introduced to show force, threat and intimidation applied by the accused.”

It described the encounter between Smith and the woman as “the unfolding of a spontaneous, unplanned romantic episode with both parties carried away by their passions.”

The decision came a month after the woman shocked her supporters when she submitted a statement to the appeals court altering her testimony, saying that she may have led Smith to believe she wanted sex. She has since emigrated to the United States.