Nicole, the raped victim of Lance cpl. Smith, has left the country and issued a termination of services to her lawyer Atty. Evelyn Ursua. Atty. Ursua confirmed the reports that her client, Nicole has left the country and that she have received a letter of termination.
“Yesterday (March 16), at about 5:30 in the afternoon, Nicole’s mother personally handed me a letter addressed to me, purportedly from Nicole. The letter is brief. It reads that it serves as Nicole’s notice of termination of my services as her counsel in the criminal case against Daniel Smith and all other cases arising from or related to it which are pending before the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Supreme Court,” Ursua said.
Nicole also made a sworn statement regarding the raped incident that is in total opposite to her previous allegations. The sworn statement can also lead to Smith's acquittal of the raped case.
Higlights of the sworn statement are:
8. With the events at the Neptune Club in mind, I keep on asking myself, if Daniel Smith wanted to rape me, why would he carry me out of the Neptune Club using the main entrance in full view of the security guard and the other sources? Why would the van park right in front of Neptune Club? Why would Daniel Smith and his companions bring me to the seawall of Alaba Pier and casually leave this area that was well lighted and with many people roaming around?
If they believed that I was raped, would they have not dumped me instead in a dimly lit area along the highway going to Alaba Pier to avoid detection?
9. I told the court that Daniel Smith kissed my lips and neck and held my breast inside the van. Recalling my testimony, I ask myself now how could I have remembered this if witnesses told the court that I passed out and looked unconscious when I was brought to the van by Daniel Smith. How could I have resisted his advances given this condition? Daniel Smith and I were alone on the third row of the van which had limited space and I do not recall anyone inside the van who held my hand or any part of my body. What I can recall is that there was very loud music and shouting inside the van.
10. If the travel from Neptune Club took only several minutes and with the driver of the van trying to beat the curfew time of his passengers, how could I have instantly regained my consciousness and talked to the people upon reaching the seawall of Alaba Pier? When people gathered around me at the seawall, everyone seemed to have drawn the conclusion that I was raped except for one who called me a bitch.
11. Based on the account of SBMA police, I was very hesitant to board the mobile police car that brought me to the headquarters for investigation. I was so confused and the first thing that entered my mind was how would my mother and boyfriend react if they learn that I was last seen with Daniel Smith and that a condom was seen on my pants after Daniel Smith left the van? I was scared of losing not only my American boyfriend but the chance of living in the United States. In fact, I did not immediately tell my boyfriend that I was raped by Daniel Smith. All I said was that something bad happened to me.
12. I expect many sectors to question my motives in executing this statement more than three years after the incident. However, as I practically grew up interacting with American servicemen in Zamboanga City who treated me and my family very well, and thinking over and over again how I may have conducted myself at the Neptune Club, I can’t help but entertain doubts on whether the sequence of events in Subic last November of 2005 really occurred the way the court found them to have happened.
13. My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away. I would rather risk public outrage than do nothing to help the court in ensuring that justice is served.
Atty Ursua said in interview with dzXl radio "Nakita ko kagabi ang notary public, abogado rin ni Smith, kasi member siya ng law firm… Ang abogado ni Smith ang Sycip Salazar [I learned last night the notary public is a lawyer of Smith. He is a member of the law firm Sycip Salazar that represents Smith]. It raises more questions,"
Interview with Nicole's ex-Lawyer
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My Opinion:
Based on the sworn statement by Nicole it is in total opposite of what has the Filipinos believed of the raped case. There are so many NGO's that has supported her in fighting for justice and all of the sudden she will retract her initial statements againsts Smith. Nicole, upon confirmation of the affidavit, should also be charged for making the whole case a circus.
What is your opinion?
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