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© KYODOU.S. serviceman in Okinawa indicted over sexual assault of minor
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GuruMick
Tacky
BigP
Disgusting!
Fighto!
If found guilty, lock the filthy child molester up for years in an Okinawan jail. Hope he cops it.
Where on earth do the US recruit their members from? School dropouts and street gangs? They aren't exactly sending their best to Japan.
Meiyouwenti
i believe most US servicemen stationed in Japan are decent and honest people. But some are not. The U.S. military is often the last refuge for scums and social misfits who cannot find employment elsewhere. Obviously the guy belongs to the latter.
shogun36
Before he serves his sentence, make sure “IT” gets cut off.
Maybe, then he’ll start to actually learn something.
stormcrow
Never jump into a car with a stranger.
BeerDeliveryGuy
I remember during our welcome aboard orientation briefing, they had a Okinawan local who worked at the Burger King give a presentation on things to see and do on the island.
When he asked if there were any questions, some numbskull PFC asked “is it true that the age of consent is 13?” To which the 1stSgt very quickly retorted “that is a vestigial law from a time when infant mortality was high and raising an army was a priority. The prefectural ordnance very clearly states that it is the age of 18. If you want to diddle 13 yr olds, go back to sweet home Alabama where the age of consent is 12.”
kwatt
I've heard someone said the US protects Japan so forget crimes some US soldiers committed in Japan. That is too arrogant or stupid. It seems someone never gets Japan has the law.
TokyoCarnivore
I’m not pretending that Japanese don’t do this crap daily, but still the reaction from the United States military is always the same, they will have a stand own and restrictions for the military.
Gaijinjland
@Fighto
Agree with you but I could just as well ask, where does Japan recruit their teachers, police, and SDF members from? Paedophelia is paedophilia.
sakurasuki
Did his recruiter promise that to him while he was in recruitment office? Hoorah
Thanks God, most of them being localized in Okinawa.
BB
This is an interesting anecdote, BDG. I wonder if the PFC heard any of the words after being confused by "vestigial..." I hope so!
BeerDeliveryGuy
I’m fairly certain he got the point even if he thought “vestigial” has something to do with vegetarianism.
I would’ve just said “shut up, it’s 18. Japanese prison crayons don’t taste good.”
Yubaru
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered openly and honestly before any conclusions can be made.
Right now it's "she said-he said" and there is no proof either way. Also notable is the fact that the "Prosecutors have not disclosed Washington's response to the allegations."
Hopefully there will be more information shared openly before everyone goes nuts!
itsonlyrocknroll
Totally agree, if convicted, will be a opportunity to make a prime example that such behaviour will be met with the harshest retribution in the Japanese prison system.
Yubaru
Please, next time you make a comment with a story such as this, at least get the facts straight!
The "Age of Consent" in the prefecture of Okinawa is 16. And I find it hard to believe that any 1stSgt would use a word like "vestigial" with a bunch of young military critters, assuming they were Marines.
Oh and the age of consent laws go back to the Meiji era, and there was no priority of "raising an army" back then.
BeerDeliveryGuy
Haha, he did also say a lot of 4 letter words that I didn’t include. SNCOs love to use big words that they don’t even fully understand. If you’ve ever heard the word “behoove” being wrongly used, you’d know what I’m talking about.
So maybe 1stSgt didn’t get all the details correct, at least he prevented some boot AF PFC from potentially molesting a child.
OssanAmerica
He was not on base and the crime was not commited while on duty, so he is going to be prosecuted entirely under Japanese law.
But the totally unwanted political impact and headache for both US and JPN govts is huge. So after he is prosecuted by Japan, he is going to be prosecuted under USMCJ as well. Have fun getting a job back home with a Court Martial on record.
USFJ has made preventing these kinds of crimes a top priority after the 1995 incident. Some idiots just don't listen.
blimp
Yes, the age of consent is 16 years as of last year. Before that it was 13 years. Hence the 1stSgt at the time of the presentation might very well have been correct, including that many prefectures had/have ordinances that made some sexual interactions illegal with anyone under 18 years old.
CaptDingleheimer
I hope he likes kneeling inside a yellow square painted on a concrete floor for 6 hours.
opheliajadefeldt
It will not be long before he is whisked off back to the USA and this will be forgotten about. Sorry to sound so skeptical but given the Japanese judicial system they will a way to make this happen, after all, Japan cannot upset the USA military, can they?
BeerDeliveryGuy
Tell that to the US Navy officer serving a 2year sentence for negligent vehicular manslaughter.
It’s not the 60’s 70’s anymore. SOFA personnel are very much subject to Japanese law regarding crimes that occur off-base/camp.
The orientation briefings make this point very clear.
BertieWooster
The problem is that Okinawan people by and large are just so nice and the children are so innocent. And this creep took advantage over this. He couldn't control his animal instincts and has ruined his life as a result. He'll do a few years of jail time and struggle after that to find any kind of employment.
Fighto!
Children are innocent everywhere on earth.
It's child molesters like this creep that destroy their lives.
elephant200
Because Japan has no rights in the policy of defense and that's why that country needs a foreign garrison to protect then and of course crimes done to the locals became usual !
Mike_Oxlong
The age of consent is 16 nationally, but local ordinances introduced more recently override that, making 18 the de facto standard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_Asia#Japan
wallace
It wasn’t consensual.
USNinJapan2
No sympathy for this Airman and the few like him who give the rest of us a bad name we don't deserve. Let the Japanese prosecute him, and if found guiltily, lock him up and throw away the key.
falseflagsteve
Where I come from people like this are called beasts. In prison he would get a very hard time and always be looking over his shoulder in fear of being attacked.
bass4funk
Not just him, many predators do, all children are innocent, no child, regardless of where they live or what country or continent they reside deserves to be sexually assaulted, you get 25 to life for doing such a vile and repulsive act.
He will probably get a dishonorable discharge and that alone will follow him forever, it’s worth than having bad credit. Either way, this guy is done and once his personal information gets out (and it will) he will be marked for life.
Jonathan Prin
I am just surprised : if she was kidnapped, where, for how long, how did she escape ?
I want the full story, not a one side media one.
Also why did it took so long to be known to the public ?
Jim
Well the recent voters who voted for the LDP backed candidates in the Okinawa elections want these type of crimes to happen. That’s the reason they voted against the Governor who has always been against the US military base. These voters have made their bed so time to lie on it!
Yubaru
There was a case, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, where a US Military man, picked up an underage girl, who was hanging around the area where military types hang out.
He allegedly "raped" her,
ALL charges were eventually dropped, because the girl's family refused to press charges, because if they did, her "alleged" behavior would all come out in the open, and put a mark on her and her family. So they kept it all hushed up, and the guy who alleged raped her, kept his mouth shut.
Speed forward to now, the laws have changed that police CAN charge someone with rape, without the consent of the alleged victim, and without the consent of underage victims parents.
There is too much information missing that makes it seem to me the cops tried to get him to confess, but he kept his mouth shut, and now they have to officially charge him!
Yubaru
The naivety of some of the posters here is just unbelievably amazing. Okinawa people are no more, and no less, "nice" then anyone else in Japan.
WoodyLee
Disgusting, acts like this in a host country causes far more damage than at the homeland.
Garthgoyle
Because the US was keeping it quiet.
owzer
Not exactly great investigative reporting, but at least they got it to the same school range.
Mr Goodman
Other news site's make it sound like she was totally raped and not just touched
Nonetheless it's very disappointing and disturbing us military servicemen are at it again
Lock him up longer and then deportation and out of the military please !
TaiwanIsNotChina
The system works.
the_sicilian
TaiwanIsNotChina
By manipulating the Japanese government and media? That is some impressive control.