A US Marine has been given a two year prison term, a dishonorable discharge, and reduction of rank to private after being acquitted of more serious rape charges in an attack on a young woman in Hiroshima in October. Lance Corporal Larry Dean, 20, was one of four Marines court-martialed, and the attacks of woman and giels by US Maries are prompting anti-US protests in some Japanese cities.
The military decided to court-martial the men even though Japanese prosecutors dropped the case, reportedly because the alleged victim had changed her story and may have consented to sex with one man.
A court-martial found that Dean was guilty of “wrongful sexual contact and indecent acts” along with violating military orders.But the military judge, Major Charles Hale, found him not guilty on charges of rape and conspiracy to rape, a military statement said.The judge yesterday sentenced Dean to two years confinement and dishonourably discharged him from the military. His rank was reduced to private and he was forced to forfeit pay.
The woman, who was 19 at the time of the incident in October, said the soldiers raped her in a car and then stole her money. But the court-martial also cleared Dean of charges of kidnapping or receiving stolen property.It was the first verdict announced for the four servicemen.
There are 40,000 US troops stationed in Japan, dating back to Japan's surrender in World War 2, when it renounced the right to make war. Japanese leaders have calld for more controls after incidents including the alleged rape of a 14 year old girl and the murder of a cab driver.
The case has automatically been sent to a military appeals court, in line with military procedure. and
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