Wow, this is a huge development in the story of the Okinawa Marine who allegedly raped a 14 year old Japanese girl:
A Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old Okinawan girl was released Friday evening by Japanese police after prosecutors decided not to seek an indictment against him.
However, Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, could still be charged in a military court.
“Hadnott has been released by Japanese police and is now in U.S. military custody,” said Marine Master Sgt. Charles Albrecht, spokesman for Marine Corps Bases Japan. “We’re conducting our own investigation.
“It would be premature to speculate on any further judicial action,” he added.
According to Japanese media reports, Hadnott was released from custody at the Okinawa City police station at 8:40 p.m. after the girl dropped her criminal complaint.
At a news conference in Naha on Friday night, Chief Prosecutor Yaichiro Yamashiki told reporters that the girl said she did not want to continue the case and wanted to be left alone.
Yamashiki said it “would not be appropriate” to proceed with any charges considering the girl’s reluctance to cooperate. [Stars & Stripes]
The Marine has been maintaining that he only kissed and pressed up against the girl and did not rape her. It would seem to me that if he raped her there would be physical evidence of the rape that medical personnel could detect when the victim was taken to the hospital. With this development I think we all have to assume the Marine’s story is in fact true. Still pretty damn weird for a 38 year old guy fooling around with a 14 year old which may lead to charges from the Marine Corps, but still we have to assume he did not rape her.
This is the second false rape allegation against US Marines in Japan in the past four months:
Four Marines confined to base since last month will not be charged by Japanese prosecutors in the alleged rape of a Japanese woman in Hiroshima, an Iwakuni base official said Thursday.
Public affairs officer Maj. Guillermo Canedo said the Hiroshima prosecutor’s office called the base legal office Thursday and said it will not seek an indictment despite weeks of investigation. [Stars & Stripes]
It was determined that the woman made up the story because she did not want to tell her mom that she had sex with multiple people in one night. Just another example that with these rape cases you just cannot presume the man is guilty because people do lie.
In other Okinawa news a trespassing charge against another Okinawa Marine that brought more public anger on the island was dropped as well. It will be interesting to see how the juicy girl rape case on Okinawa will turn out because that rape case seems dubious as well.
It will be interesting to see how the dropping of charges on these Marines will effect the current "Period of Reflection" lock down of US military personnel and their families on Okinawa that is continuing to this day. If it doesn’t get lifted soon it seems like the command is going to have a lot of pissed off people thinking they are being locked down for something that was proven to not have happened.
Popularity: 3%
7:33 am on March 1st, 2008 1
It seems the command on Oki owes the entire community including active duty, civilians, contractors and dependents a “reflection time” refund. Perhaps this relection time can be cashed in the next time mass punishment is deemed appropriate.
The commander also owes the community a big phooking apology. Perhaps a replacement and early, quiet retirement (ala LaPorte) is in order.
By boggling this sensitive matter this Einstein perpetuated the perception of guilt, by locking everyone down, where it appears there was not even a serious crime.
Pure buffoonery
I wonder if the DoD civilians will be paid standy pay for the on call status they were subjected to. As the reg clearly states. **guffaw**
7:38 am on March 1st, 2008 2
The more you know:
BEEPERS AND STANDBY TIME
FAS REFERENCE GUIDE
603-LR3__ __________________________________________June 2, 1995
Beepers and Standby Time
References:
5 CFR § 551.431
Standby duty is defined in 5 CFR Section 551.431 which states:
(a) An employee will be considered on duty and time spent on standby duty shall be considered hours of work if:
(1) The employee is restricted to an agency’s premises, or so close thereto that the employee cannot use the time effectively for his or her own purposes; or
(2) The employee, although not restricted to the agency’s premises:
(i) Is restricted to his or her living quarters or designated post of duty;
(ii) Has his or her activities substantially limited; and
(iii) Is required to remain in a state of readiness to perform work.
(b) An employee will be considered off duty and time spent in an on-call status shall not be considered hours of work if:
(1) The employee is allowed to leave a telephone number or to carry an electronic device for the purpose of being contacted, even though the employee is required to remain within a reasonable call-back radius; or
(2) The employee is allowed to make arrangements such that any work which may arise during the on-call period will be performed by another person.
The regulation distinguishes between off-duty employees who are on standby status and those who are on-call. Standby employees are entitled to compensation; on-call employees are not.
There is no question that the employer has the right either to place employees on standby duty or to require them to carry a beeper. The gray area is whether the employees are entitled to compensation because they are restricted to a certain location, have their activities substantially limited, or are required to remain in a state of readiness to perform work.
Want to learn more? http://cpolrhp.belvoir.army.mil/ncr/FunctionalAreas/NCCPOC/LMER/beepers.htm
8:21 am on March 1st, 2008 3
There is no way this can be minimized. This guy is mentally disturbed and needs to be killed. What he admitted to is pure and simple -sick-. This is a little girl and for a 38 year old man to admit he “pressed up against her and kissed her” leads me to think where he kissed her and what did he press against her. Thanks Jar-head for making Americans and Blacks look like pedophiles.
1:45 pm on March 3rd, 2008 4
Crazy Corea,
I have read that this marine did not realize the girl was a minor until the time of his arrest. He probably figured that since all Japanese women look young for their age, this very young-looking girl was older.
From what I have read, it appears like this guy picked up the girl looking for a date for the night and assumed that a girl accepting a ride from a total stranger on the back of his motorcycle at 8 PM would be willing. Turns out it was a wrong assumption and he got in trouble. However, there is a law in Japan prohibiting sexual acts with a minor, which does not necessitate a charge from a victim for the police to take action. That means, if the there was solid evidence of a rape, this marine would still be tried even if the girl had dropped charges. His release means that there was no evidence of such sexual acts.
10:36 pm on March 3rd, 2008 5
Two Cents,
This is a 38 year old man. There is no way I would mistake a 14 year old girl for a grown woman unless she was the unfortunate victim of a terrible car crash where she suffered 3rd degree burns over 90% of her body. I have never been to any country, including Japan, where a 14 year old looked like a grown woman. Sorry, I don’t buy it and this pervert needs his balls chopped off. Don’t try to fool yourself, this guy knew exactly what he was doing and with who. He may not have performed intercourse with this girl, but give him a polygraph and I bet there would be a significant response to the knowledge of age and what he intended to do.
11:35 am on March 4th, 2008 6
Well, I was in my late twenties and was still asked for my ID in an US restaurant when I ordered wine with my dinner. I have some friends, married and in their thirties who would pass in the US for a junior or senior high school student. Another friend I have in her late thirties now living in the US introduced herself in ESS class (you know, the regular Hello-my-name-is-and I-am-blah-years old thing) , and the teacher and the entire class corrected her, insisting that she had the number in the ten’s digit mixed up. Thus, I don’t find it unnatural that this marine?knowing that some Japanese women do look much younger than their actual age compared to their western counterparts, simply assumed that the teen-looking girl was probably several years older. I am not saying that the 14-year-old looked like a “grown woman”, I am saying that women in their early twenties in Japan tend to look more juvenile. Besides, the girl didn’t have to look like she was a grown woman, just 18. Since I am going to presume the guy is innocent until proven guitly, and since he did stop when the girl said no, I don’t believe he was intending any rape. Was he intending to have sex? Of course he was. As for his pedophilic tastes, I am going to give him the benefit of doubt, since I will never see a photo circulating of this girl or how she was dressed that night. In any case, I am sure the USFJ will look into the matter since they now have him in custody and will no doubt check out his past history with local women, or minors, in this case. If he simply prefers girls who look like they are in their low-teens, but are really not, then I have no problem with that.
12:28 pm on March 14th, 2008 7
Two words: “Enjo kousai” or “????”. You can rail about how “wrong” or “sick” it is, but the fact is it is quite common in Japan. Hadnott is a long term resident of Japan and perhaps went a bit native. Perhaps he started to think that what is acceptable behavior for a Japanese salaryman is OK for him too. To assume automatically that the girl in this case is a pure and innocent victim, however, is naive. Heck, a quarter of the 14 year olds in America have a sexually transmitted disease, and that is the country with the lowest tolerance for teen prostitution in the world. Teen prostitution is largely tolerated here in Japan, as long as it isn’t organized, is low profile and the girls’ customers are Japanese.
Anyway, pretending that all 14 year olds are sexually chaste and unwilling victims, particularly in cultures with more liberal sexual attitudes than in the puritan USA, is ignorant and credulous. Additionally, realize that if Hadnott had instead been Kobayashi, then this whole issue would never have made the news, even if there was real evidence that an actual rape had occurred. More than anything, what this episode brilliantly illustrates is the deeply ingrained, pathological racism of the Japanese people.
4:38 am on March 17th, 2008 8
[...] is ironic about this is that the Japanese police investigated the alleged rape and charges were dropped against the Marine. So because of an incident that didn’t happen Japanese politicians want to have USFJ [...]
5:20 pm on March 28th, 2008 9
2:28 am on April 4th, 2008 10
OK, I have a reliable sourse in Oki and told me the 14 year old girl is a prostitute and she called her “friend” to tell him the marine wouldn’t pay and then the rape was called into the police.
5:15 am on April 4th, 2008 11
I have heard the same thing as well but it is just a rumor but I can definitely believe it happening.
9:09 am on April 28th, 2008 12
[...] really isn’t surprising that the Okinawa Marine that had charges dropped against him by the Okinawa police, is now being charged by the [...]