A Philippine court has sentenced a US serviceman to 12 years in jail for killing a Filipino transgender last year.
The Olongapo city court found US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton "guilty beyond reasonable doubt" of homicide in the death of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude, 26, in October 2014.
The court did not agree with the prosecution that Pemberton committed murder, which carries a heavier penalty of permanent imprisonment.
The court also ordered Pemberton to pay Laude's family civil damages.
During the trial last year, Pemberton admitted of choking Laude unconscious after he discovered that Pemberton was not a woman when they were about to have sex in the city of Olongapo where their ship was docked.
