Armedforces News - April 2008
Charges for US Marine in Rape Claim
Posted by Paul Fiddian on 25/04/2008 - 21:16:58
A United States Marine is set to appear in court based on claims that he raped a Japanese girl.
Okinawa
The alleged incident is said to have taken place on Okinawa - a Japanese Island with a substantial US military presence there.
Earlier this year, Armed Forces International reported on how the Marine - Staff Sergeant Tyrone Hadnott - had been arrested.
Prosecutors in Japan set him free after the girl, aged 14, dropped the case.
The US military, however, charged Hadnott "as the result of a Marine Corps Investigation."
The hearing is, as yet, unscheduled.
US Troop Discipline
The issue has sparked widespread outrage across the Japanese mainland, and provoked calls for US troops to be disciplined more stringently.
Around 40,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan - half of them based in Okinawa.
Aside from Hadnott, four other members of the US armed forces are set to appear in court on claims that they raped another Japanese woman in 2007.
Charges
According to a statement issued by the US Marines, the decision to court martial the soldier was based on five military code violations. These charges, it stressed, were "merely accusations."
"The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the right to a fair and impartial trial", it added.
The five charges are as follows:
- Rape of a child under 16
- Sexual abuse of a child under 16,
- Delivery of a false official statement
- Adultery
- "Kidnapping through inveigling"
In February, the US imposed a temporary curfew on all military personnel serving in Okinawa.
Source - Armed Forces International's Far East Correspondent
Recent related News Items:
US Marines Face Court-Martial over Hiroshima Rape Case
Okinawa Troops Curfew in Place "Until Further Notice"
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