Japanese prosecutors have charged a US Air Drive member with allegedly kidnapping and raping an underage woman simply earlier than Christmas final 12 months, Okinawa police confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.
Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, was indicted on March 27 on fees of “non-consensual sexual activity” and “indecent kidnapping,” a courtroom spokesperson in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, informed CNN, including that the US navy handed the serviceman over to the Japanese authorities on the identical day.
Washington was launched on bail and transferred to the Kadena US Air Base in Okinawa for custody, in accordance with a authorities spokesperson. His trial will start July 12, in accordance with the Naha District Courtroom spokesperson.
The courtroom’s spokesperson informed CNN they don’t have any particulars concerning the airman’s authorized illustration.
The prosecution comes at a time when Washington and Tokyo are deepening their navy alliance – partially as geopolitical tensions rise with each China and North Korea.
The alleged rape is the newest in a historical past of prison circumstances involving US personnel in Okinawa, residence to one of many largest US overseas navy bases, and will exacerbate tensions with residents who’ve lengthy opposed the presence of American troops and weaponry on the island.
The presence of V-22 Ospreys, a tiltrotor navy plane, has additionally been an everyday supply of anger and protest in Okinawa following a sequence of latest crashes and noise complaints.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki informed reporters Tuesday that the allegations of rape and kidnap had been “extraordinarily regrettable,” including it was essential “to strongly protest in opposition to the US navy and different associated organizations.”
The governor additionally mentioned his workplace will “take a tricky stance in coping with the state of affairs.”
Washington, the indicted serviceman, was stationed with the 18 Logistics Readiness Squadron on the Kadena Air Base in Japan, in accordance with the US Air Drive, which confirmed his rank and repair report to CNN.
“The 18th Wing is conscious of a sexual assault allegation in opposition to a Kadena Airman involving a Japanese citizen,” 18th Wing Spokesperson, 1st Lt. Alvin G. Nelson III, informed CNN Wednesday.
“We perceive and share the local people’s considerations concerning this case,” Nelson mentioned, including that Wing management was “deeply involved by the severity of this alleged crime,” and has been working with native authorities to research the allegations.
“All US service members are anticipated to uphold the very best requirements, and the US navy is dedicated to holding accountable those that are convicted of prison acts,” the Wing spokesperson mentioned.
The indictment comes practically 30 years after three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawa schoolgirl in 1995, sparking a backlash in opposition to the US navy on the island.
In 2016, the rape and homicide of a 20-year-old lady by a former US base employee in Okinawa triggered mass protests within the island’s capital, with tens of hundreds of residents demanding the US transfer its bases outdoors of Okinawa. The fallout resulted in curfews for US personnel on the island.
In one other crime involving US personnel in Japan, a US Navy officer killed two Japanese nationals whereas driving down Mount Fuji in 2021.
Masataka Okano, Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs, referred to as for stricter self-discipline and lodged a protest with the US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, on March 27, the day Washington was indicted, in accordance with the Japanese International Ministry.
CNN reached out to the US Embassy in Japan, which mentioned it was conscious of the case however is not going to remark. The embassy informed CNN in a telephone name to contact Kadena Air Base, the place Washington was based mostly, for info on the case. CNN has contacted Kadena Air Base for remark.
Japan and the US have a mutual defence alliance and a decades-old navy partnership that has solely been deepened in recent times by regional threats, notably North Korea and an ever extra assertive China.
US President Joe Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August 2023 in a present of solidarity and pressure in opposition to Beijing.
In what Biden hailed as a “new period of cooperation,” the three powers dedicated to a yearly trilateral summit, intelligence sharing and annual navy workout routines.
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