Okinawa Marine charged by U.S. military
Remember the story of the U.S. Marine in Okinawa who was accused of raping a 14-year old girl that we reported on here, here, and here?
The Marine claimed he merely forced a kiss on the girl and charges were later dismissed by Japanese authorities when the girl dropped charges against him.
Though it looked like that would be that, the U.S. military apparently has decided, pressed charges or no, the Marine’s actions were serious infractions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and must be punished.
U.S. military charges against Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott include rape of a child under 16, abusive sexual conduct, making a false official statement, adultery and “kidnapping through inveigling,” or trickery.
No date was set for the court-martial. The charges were made Monday, but the military did not announce them until Friday.
Big thanks to RTN for sending this in.
I wonder if the Japanese mass media will cover this development with as much fervor as they ‘covered’ the story originally. Yes, that’s sarcasm.
I found short informational blurbs on both the Asahi and Yomiuri Shinbun homepages. Anyone know if they made it into the print version and where (front page? hidden deep inside?) Has this news made it onto the TV evening news or (more importantly) morning shows?
April 26th, 2008 at 10:41 pm