U.S. Keeps Custody of Marines in Rape Case
From Times Wire Reports
The United States formally rejected a Philippine government request to transfer custody of four Marines charged with rape, invoking an agreement that grants it custody during legal proceedings.
Prosecutors allege that Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith raped a 22-year-old woman Nov. 1 inside a van at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base northwest of Manila, as fellow Marines cheered him on. Smith maintains that he had consensual sex.
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