MANILA, Philippines?Back then, ?Nicole? said that if she had her way, she would like her purported rapists to face the death penalty.

In an interview days before the accused US servicemen were to hear the verdict of the court, Nicole said she was raped and dumped on the pavement.

?If I was not telling the truth, why would I put myself through this situation?? she said, adding that she was proud she had pursued the case, and that she hoped her trial would embolden other rape victims.

She also said she was looking forward to putting the case behind her and moving on with her life, perhaps overseas.

The management accounting graduate, then 23 years old, accused four US Marines?Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier?of conspiring to rape her in a van just before midnight of Nov. 1, 2005, at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The four Marines, part of a US contingent involved in military exercises, were on shore leave at the time.

Nicole testified in court that she was drunk and too weak to stop the assault. In a July 2006 hearing, she said: ?They took away my dignity ? Smith raped me and his companions even encouraged him. They were enjoying it as if they were watching a private show. Then they just unloaded me [from the van] like a pig.?

Witnesses testified that Nicole was drunk and had to be carried on Smith?s back into the van, then lifted out of the vehicle and left on a sidewalk with her pants down.

Smith, backed by the testimonies of his fellow Marines, insisted that the sex was consensual.

On Dec. 4, 2006, the 21-year-old Smith was found ?guilty beyond reasonable doubt? of raping Nicole, and was sentenced to serve up to 40 years in prison. The three other servicemen were acquitted.

Nicole burst into tears on hearing the decision.

In his 63-page ruling, Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon said Smith ?knew? Nicole was drunk and ?took advantage? of her condition.

Pozon also cited up to 14 points that constituted ?circumstantial evidence? against Smith.

These included Nicole?s medical examination revealing that she suffered contusions ?consistent? with her rape and that her private parts were tender when internally probed, that her panty and the condom used in the intercourse had the ?seminal stains of Smith,? and that the DNA found on those stains ?matched? those from Smith?s blood.

Smith was also ordered to pay Nicole P50,000 in compensatory damages and P50,000 in moral damages.

The case was the first known instance of a US soldier being convicted by a Philippine court of a major crime.

Smith?s conviction was hailed by various groups as a victory for women?s rights. Inquirer Research