4 U.S. Marines Charged, 2 Others Cleared in Philippine Rape Case

Prosecutors charged four U.S. Marines today with raping a 22-year-old Filipina in early November but cleared two other servicemen who had also been suspects.

In affidavits, five of the Marines had disputed allegations that the woman was gang raped in a van at the former U.S. Navy base at Subic Bay, suggesting the sex had been consensual.

The sixth serviceman, who had also taken part in two-week military exercises with Philippine troops in October, did not submit an affidavit.

The Philippine driver of the van, initially considered to be a witness, was charged as an accomplice, according to documents submitted to a court in Olongapo City, northwest of Manila.

In the charge sheet, Olongapo City chief prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni said evidence suggested the two Marines expected to be cleared were not in the van at the time of the alleged assault.

The Marines were being held at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, and Washington had not responded publicly to a Philippine request to transfer them to local authorities.

Beyond small-scale protests outside the Olongapo City court, the case has caused little public outcry or anti-American sentiment in the Philippines, a major ally of the U.S. in the region.