Thursday, November 15, 2007 11:48 pm | 
|
Rape charges dropped against 4 U.S. marines
Hiroshima prosecutors dropped the charges against four U.S. Marines who stood accused of gang raping a 19-year old Japanese woman in October, an official said Thursday.
The decision to drop the case “was made in light of the evidence,” a Kyodo News report quoted Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors’ Office Deputy Prosecutor Keiichi Yamakawa as saying, but he declined to give more specific reasons.
The accused Marines, belonging to the nearby Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, claimed that they all had had consensual sex with the woman, while she claimed she had been pushed into a car and gang raped and robbed by the four.
The case was first taken up by the local Hiroshima police after the woman filed a criminal complaint, but after “recognizing some inconsistencies in the case,” police decided to send the case on to the prosecutors, without seeking arrest warrants for the men.
In 1995, three U.S. military base serviceman raped a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl on Okinawa, sparking massive public protests and debate over the continued presence of the U.S. forces in Japan.
Related posts
Four Marines to get court-martial in Japan rape case Police to demand custody of 4 U.S. Marines accused of rape U.S. military charges 4 U.S. Marines with gang raping Japanese woman U.S. to continue probe on Marine’s alleged rape, despite his release Okinawa Assembly adopts resolutions condemning U.S. Marine’s alleged rapeJapan News Review
© All rights reserved
None found
While low-cost carriers have since long been successfully operating throughout the U.S., Europe, and southern Asia, Japan has seen very little of the low-price action.
[…] it’s not just your everyday types either. There’s also gang-raping going on. And the raping of underaged […]