Kano: An American and His Harem

In 1969, an American hero from the Vietnam War relocated to the Philippines, invited hundreds of women to move in with him, and set up a harem in a poor, remote village. In 2001, Victor Pearson was charged with over 80 counts of rape. The following year, he was found guilty on two counts. Although Pearson is now serving two life sentences in Manila, many of his women stand by him, even those who testified against him in court. This convicted rapist and his harem form a dysfunctional family replete with codependency and power issues. Some women even sport tattoos of Pearson's name. He has gotten married a couple times in prison and has even rented apartments in the neighborhood so he can keep the women near him. How far he went in making his own sexual laws becomes increasingly clear as we listen to the women's stories: some of them even brought their children to Pearson in exchange for money. Nonetheless, he did pay for the education of a number of women. In this debut film, we hear Pearson's side of things as well. He sees himself as a father figure who needs the women, but who also must "discipline" them every now and then. As far as any guilt is concerned, he claims not to have raped anyone.