Nicole grilled on ‘selective memory’

Lawyers of four United States Marines standing trial for rape grilled the complainant yesterday on her "selective memory" regarding how she was allegedly sexually assaulted on the night of Nov. 1 last year.

During yesterday’s hearing, Patricia Formoso, one of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith’s lawyers, grilled the complainant on how she claims to recall the kinds of alcoholic drinks she had at the Neptune Club at the Subic Freeport, as well as how each drink was served, but could not tell what time she had them.

For some 45 minutes, the complainant — known only as "Nicole" — was asked questions about what transpired before and after the alleged rape.

Nicole repeatedly answered, "Hindi ko na po matandaan (I can no longer remember)," when asked when she drank two shots of vodka-Sprite and half-a-glass of Singapore Sling.

Smith’s lawyer noted that Nicole remembers the order in which she had the drinks as well as the types of glasses each were served in but not the time she consumed them.

Formoso also used the phrase "let me help you remember" several times but Nicole insisted that her memory failed her.

Nicole said she was at the Neptune Club to have fun with her stepsister and Christopher Mills, one of the US Navy men who invited her to Subic, so she did not check the time before drinking one alcoholic drink after another.

Formoso also asked Nicole if her boyfriend, US Marine Bryan Goodrich, knew that she was going to Subic and that she was with Mills and another US Marine named Carlos Ocasio, who would be paying for their expenses except for the plane fare from Zamboanga to Manila.

Nicole said she did not tell her boyfriend details of the trip but did tell him that she was going to Subic with her sisters and two US Navy men.

Formoso asked questions that forced Nicole to jump from one incident or topic to another, and back again.

From questions on the alcoholic drinks Nicole consumed at the Pier One and Scuba Shack on Oct. 30, 2005, Formoso asked if the complainant had had a drinking session with Mills and Carlos before. She then went back to the original topic.

Formoso asked what time Nicole had sent her youngest sister to the hotel where they were staying on Oct. 30, and then inquired about Smith’s attire on the night of the alleged rape.

Formoso also asked Nicole if she dreamt of going to the United States since she testified that the processing of her papers did not flourish because of the case.

Nicole said she did want to go to the US but only to be with her boyfriend, whom she claimed has already lost his job and is no longer a US Marine.

Formoso also questioned Nicole how she remembers asking a midwife at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital if she was allowed to urinate, when she also claims to have been "tulala" or in a state of shock when a doctor asked her if she was the girl complaining of rape minutes later.

After Formoso’s cross-examination, lawyers Jose Justiniano, Francisco Rodrigo, and Enrico Uyehara — who represent Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood, Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, and Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis, respectively — said they would no longer cross-examine the complainant.

Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon, who is presiding over the trial, asked several clarificatory questions before he excused Nicole.

He asked Nicole what she shouted when she was resisting the rape inside the van; how she ended up having her pants on backwards; how Smith allegedly kissed her on the lips, neck, and breasts; where the music she heard was coming from; and where the voices she heard came from. Nicole replied that she either couldn’t tell or remember.

Pozon also tried to ask Nicole how Smith touched her breasts but she refused to describe it, saying she was embarrassed just as she had been when her lawyer Evalyn Ursua asked her to demonstrate it during the direct examination.

"Hindi naman ako proud na sabihin sa mga tao na na-rape ako (I am not proud to tell people I was raped)," she said, ending her testimony.

Defense lawyers who chose not to cross-examine Nicole said they did not have to do so since none of their clients were mentioned.

"You don’t rely on cross-examination. You rely on the strength of your evidence," Justiniano told reporters after the hearing.

"The most eloquent cross-examination is no cross-examination because the witness did not say anything," Rodrigo added.

Ursua, in defense of her client, said it is wrong to say that her client has selective memory but, rather, suffered from "fragmented recall."

"Her behavior is consistent with the testimony that she was drunk and couldn’t remember some details," Ursua said.

As for Silkwood, Carpentier, and Duplantis not being mentioned in Nicole’s testimony, Ursua said there are other pieces of evidence against the three servicemen.

Smith, Ursua said, admitted that he had sex with Nicole while Carpentier admitted that he authorized Smith to bring the woman into the van where they allegedly cheered "Go, Smith, go!"

Ursua said the prosecution panel was surprised with the decision of the three defense lawyers not to ask questions on cross-examination.

Meanwhile, before adjourning yesterday’s proceedings, Pozon ordered that a subpoena be issued to summon Timoteo Soriano Jr., the driver of the Starex van where the alleged rape took place.

Pozon said summons will be sent to Soriano’s known addresses in the cities of Makati and Caloocan so he can be called upon to take the witness stand on Monday.

Ursua expressed confidence that Soriano, whose testimony will be of vital importance to the case, will appear before the court.

Soriano will be among the prosecution’s last five witnesses before it rests and gives the defense its turn to present witnesses in favor of the accused.