Rapist gets death sentence

A FORMER British taxi-driver has become the first foreigner to been sentenced to death in the Philippines for raping his stepdaughter of 12. The girl said she wants to watch as Albert Wilson, 46, who moved there in 1993, receives a lethal injection.

Wilson, nicknamed Sunny, was convicted yesterday of raping the girl two years ago. He is the first foreigner to receive the death sentence for rape.

A court in Valenzuela, a town north of the capital Manila, heard that Wilson, originally from Kent, raped the girl while her mother was out shopping.

In a judgement read to the court, Judge Adriano Osorio, said: "There is no clear sign that (the victim's) testimony was fabricated or (that she) testified falsely against the accused." The court also ordered Wilson to pay 50,000 pesos (approximately pounds 700) to her.

Wilson who sat silently during the 10-minute hearing with his head between his knees was taken away in handcuffs by police. Lawyers acting for Wilson said they will appeal.

After, the victim - now aged 14 - said: "I am very happy today. I cannot forgive him because he is not of my own blood and I do not know how to forgive. He deserves the death penalty and I hope we can watch it." Wilson's partner, and the girl's mother, Vicky Delistan, is supporting Wilson'sclaim of innocence, as is the girl's brother.

Stephen Jakobi, of Fair Trials Abroad, said he had serious doubts about the conviction."There are a lot of rumours going around that the girl's biological father has been trying to extort money from Mr Wilson." The attendance report from the girl's school also show she attended on the day she claimed she was raped.