‘Nicole’ suffers breakdown; trial halted

The rape trial involving four United States Marines adjourned yesterday until next week because the 22-year-old Filipina victim suffered a breakdown a day after taking the stand, the judge said.

The woman, identified in court only by the pseudonym "Nicole," identified the US Marine who allegedly raped her in tearful testimony Thursday during the emotional six-week-old trial.

She was scheduled to return to the stand yesterday, but Makati City regional trial court Judge Benjamin Pozon adjourned the proceedings until Monday because "the complainant suffered a breakdown."

"Severe traumatic stress" triggered by having to recall her alleged rape prevented Nicole from retaking the witness stand, Nicole’s lawyer Evalyn Ursua said, explaining why she opted not to bring the complainant back to court.

"After her testimony yesterday, we could not talk to her. She just wanted to be left alone. She kept on crying," Nicole’s brother said, quoting Nicole’s psychiatrist as saying the plaintiff was too stressed out to return to the courtroom.

The 22-year-old Nicole alleged she was attacked in a van Nov. 1 by Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith as Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood, Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier cheered him on.

The Marines have refused to answer the rape charges, punishable by up to 40 years in prison, prompting the judge to enter an innocent plea for them. Defense lawyers insist Smith had consensual sex with Nicole.

Because of Nicole’s absence, Pozon had to cancel the proceedings upon the request of Senior State Prosecutor Emily Fe de los Santos, who heads the prosecution panel.

Lawyers of the four accused posed no objection to the move though their clients — Smith, Silkwood, Duplantis and Carpentier — were present.

"She’s extremely stressed because of her experience (of testifying in court last Monday)," Dr. June Lopez, Nicole’s therapist, told reporters after the hearing was adjourned.

"I’m not surprised... (Nicole) should be given time to recover," Lopez said, referring to how the hearings are being held four times a week at four hours per hearing.

Nicole has been attending the proceedings regularly since they began on June 2 until she finally took the witness stand Thursday.

Yesterday’s postponement was the first since the marathon trial began. Under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the court proceedings must be completed by August.

Lopez likened "severe traumatic stress" to being traumatized again because Nicole is being asked to remember a very traumatic experience.

Nicole’s mother, Susan, said Nicole is going through a hard time but is doing her best to stay strong.

"Siguro dinibdib niya (She probably took it too hard)," Susan told The STAR, though she added that Nicole is being given the best care they can give her.

Nicole’s brother said Nicole is very depressed from recounting the events of Nov. 1, 2005 as well as incidents occurring before and after the alleged rape.

"Natakot daw siya (She said she is scared and feeling) mixed emotions. Galit din siya (She is also angry)," he said.

Ursua, in a telephone interview, said she is with her client, who will be okay and will testify on Monday.

"We were on our way when we decided not to proceed. She wanted to testify, she was willing, the spirit is willing, but she needed to rest," Ursua said.

Appeal for a more sensitive press

Lopez said the media are definitely playing a big role in Nicole’s search for justice but she urged the press to be more sensitive.

According to her, headlines like "Nicole Asking for More Sex" (not in The STAR) sent Nicole running to Lopez in tears.

She said these headlines can be traumatic but they also help Nicole prepare for how she will be cross-examined by defense lawyers.

"For anybody who experiences trauma, the role of the therapist is to help look at it in another way, positively," Lopez said.

She said her role is to give Nicole hope and help her regain her sense of power by fighting anger, guilt and other destructive emotions.

"You don’t have to be biased. Just be sensitive. Your reportage may even be educational," she told journalists.

Journalists from various local and international media outfits have been keeping such a close eye on the Subic rape case that they occupy almost half of the seats in the gallery of Makati City’s old session hall.

Lining up for registration as early as an hour before the hearings start at 1 p.m. has become a daily routine for reporters and other spectators while photojournalists are on stand-by mode outside the courtroom, ready to shoot as soon as Nicole, the accused and their lawyers arrive and leave or go on breaks, while reporters stay alert for ambush interviews.

Drugged?

Lopez said it is possible that her patient was drugged on the night of the alleged rape, though the prosecution may be unable to prove such a claim.

She spoke of Rohypnol, a horse tranquilizer that was banned in the US and other countries because it has been used as a "date-rape drug."

Lopez also said she wonders how Nicole could have consumed all the alcohol she allegedly drank on the night of the alleged rape at the Neptune Bar and still have the energy to dance.

The problem, Lopez noted, is that Nicole’s urinalysis test result, if one was indeed conducted, appears to be missing.

She said a urinalysis would have detected what chemicals were in Nicole’s bloodstream on the night that the rape allegedly took place.

Nicole testified Thursday that she was already intoxicated while dancing at a bar at the Subic Bay freeport, a former US Naval base, when Smith grabbed her by the wrist to dance.

Scared because she didn’t know who Smith was, she turned to a US Navy man, a family friend from southern Zamboanga city, who said it was okay to dance with the Marine while telling Smith, "Just take care of her."

She continued to drink and then testified that she was 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."

During the fast-track proceedings to beat a one-year deadline for the case, several witnesses have testified the woman was seen carried out of the bar on Smith’s back into the van. Other witnesses said they later saw the Marines take the half-naked woman out of the van and leave her on a sidewalk.

Carpentier, who with his co-accused is confined to the premises of the US embassy in Manila, told GMA-7 television that Nicole was being manipulated to accuse him and his co-defendants.

"She’s a victim, but not a victim of us. She’s a victim of some of the people surrounding her," Carpentier said. "We’re human. We’re not, you know, the monsters that we’re made out to be."

The US embassy, which has custody over the accused under the VFA, hasn’t released the beleaguered servicemen’s ages or hometowns. Under the VFA, the proceedings must conclude in one year.

The case has sparked anti-American protests in the former US colony and is seen as a black mark on the Balikatan exercises that have, until recently, been credited with helping the Philippine government weaken al-Qaeda linked militants in Mindanao.

The accused were part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa, Japan. — With AP