December 27, 2005, 10:24 Society

Marines defeated a girl on a bus

Zinaida Koshkina Four American Marines will soon appear in court in the Philippines. They, as well as their driver, a local resident, have been charged with gang raping a Filipino girl.

Philippine prosecutors on Tuesday charged four US Marines from the US military base in Subic Bay with the gang rape of a Filipino girl. The case was brought to court in the city of Olongapo, located northeast of the Philippine capital Manila. It is currently being decided which judge will preside over the hearing, Reuters reports .

As the investigation established, the crime was committed in early November 2005. The Marines arrived in the Philippines for a two-week military exercise in October and decided to have some fun toward the end of their stay.

Six soldiers escorted a 22-year-old local girl to a US naval base in the Philippines. They lured her into a minibus parked on the territory of the base and raped her.

The rape victim contacted the police. The investigation began. The interrogated US Marines stated under oath that there was no rape, and sex with the girl “took place, but by mutual consent.” True, not all participants in the events said so, but only five. The sixth Marine categorically refused to testify under oath, immediately shaking confidence in the veracity of the others' statements.

The investigation also collected other data that allowed Philippine prosecutors to conclude that rape did occur. But two of the six Marines involved in the case will not sit in the dock: as the investigation established, they were not on the bus at the time the crime was committed. But the Filipino who took part in the sexual amusements of the Americans and worked as the driver of the ill-fated bus will stand trial. At first, the investigation considered him only a witness to the crime. However, the data obtained by investigators indicates that he was one of his accomplices.

The offending Marines are currently under house arrest on the grounds of the US Embassy in Manila.

The Philippine authorities tried to demand that the Americans transfer them to serve pre-trial detention in a Philippine prison, but the United States ignored this request.

They generally prefer not to comment once again on another unpleasant incident with their military personnel at their overseas bases. According to the American Embassy in the Philippines, they will have their say when the charges against the US Marines are officially heard in court.

Philippine society has been quite reserved regarding incidents involving American military personnel. So far, only left-wing supporters of the Philippine women's movement have reacted actively to it. Even before the trial began, they began picketing the Olongapo courthouse, demanding severe punishment for those responsible. No other anti-American protests have yet been noticed in the country, which until recently was the only US colony in Asia, which later became its main ally in this region.

But Filipino lawyers are happy. As the victim’s lawyer, Katrina Legarda, told reporters, “we are satisfied that the injured girl will be protected by justice.”