A member of the US Marines is set to serve a 15 month jail sentence for sexual misconduct against a Japanese woman, according to a US military statement issued on June 10^th.

Military Discharge

The Marine, Gunnery Sergeant Carl Anderson, is also to be discharged from military service on the grounds of bad conduct.

Anderson featured in a quartet of US Marines who, it was claimed, simultaneously raped a young Japanese woman in Hiroshima in 2007.

Of these four, two had already appeared in court and been sentenced to 20 months and 24 months in jail.

Court Martial

Prosecutors in Japan had discarded the case, citing insufficient evidence against the four men. Back in the US, however, the decision was taken to court-martial them.

Anderson himself was found guilty of a number of offences including violation of military orders and engagement in acts of indecency. A charge of rape, however, was let go of on the basis of a plea bargain.

US Armed Forces in Japan

The incident was one of a string of cases involving members of the US armed forces in Japanese territory that have acted to enrage Japan’s civilian population.

US Marine Hadnott

Of the 40,000 US military personnel currently serving on Japanese territory, around half are based in Okinawa island. Here, a military curfew was imposed earlier this year in light of the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by US Marine Staff Sergeant Tyrone Hadnott.

The US military presence in Japan is linked to a post-World War Two treaty, under which terms Washington is bound to protect it.

Source – Armed Forces International’s US Correspondent

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