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Marine in Okinawa rape case released
2008-02-29
A U.S. Marine arrested earlier this month on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl was released by the Japanese authorities on Friday, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Okinawa, southern Japan, said. The 38-year-old Marine, Tyrone Hadnott, was released because prosecutors decided not to press charges as the girl had dropped the accusation against him, Kyodo news agency reported. The arrest had caused outrage in Japan and revived bitter memories of the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl on the island in 1995, which sparked huge protests against U.S. bases there and raised doubts about the bilateral security alliance. "He is in Marine Corps custody. They released him to us," Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Powell told Reuters. He added that the U.S. Marines was still investigating the case and that it was "premature to speculate on any further legal action on our part." Hadnott, had been arrested on suspicion of raping the girl in a car on Okinawa island, where the bulk of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based. Police have said he denied rape but admitted forcing her to kiss him. "We've determined it isn't appropriate to indict the suspect by applying charges ... out of consideration for the victim's feelings," Kyodo quoted Yaichiro Yamashiki, chief prosecutor at the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office in Okinawa, as saying. A journalist in Okinawa said there had been criticism of the girl on the Internet and that it was possible that her family decided to spare her the ordeal of any trial. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had called the latest incident "unforgivable" and demanded tighter military discipline, although both the U.S. and Japanese governments have moved swiftly to try to limit the diplomatic fallout. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a visit to Japan earlier this week, voiced deep regret over the case, while Japan's Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was important for the two governments to take action to improve the situation in a visible way. The arrest, which was followed by reports of other crimes blamed on U.S. Marines in Okinawa, came amid a struggle to implement a plan lightening the burden of the U.S. military presence on the island following the 1995 incident. (Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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