US soldier pleads not guilty to sexual assault of minor in Okinawa

Tokyo: A US Air Force member in Japan's island prefecture of Okinawa pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of allegedly kidnapping a girl under the age of 16 and committing nonconsensual sexual intercourse in December last year, local media reported.

At his first hearing at the Naha District Court, Brennon Washington, 25, said, "I'm not guilty," asserting he is innocent of the charges, Kyodo News said.

The case came to light in late June, around three months after his indictment, as local police decided not to disclose the incident. The decision has inflamed strong and long-existing opposition to the US military presence in the prefecture, reported Xinhua news agency.

According to the indictment dated March 27, the US serviceman allegedly invited the girl to speak to him in his car at a park in the village of Yomitan on December 24, 2023, and drove her to his residence before committing indecent acts such as kissing and touching the lower half of the girl's body with the knowledge that she was under 16.

Washington was handed over to Japanese authorities following the indictment but was released after posting bail and is currently in US custody, according to the Okinawa prefectural government.

Just days after Washington's case came to light, it was revealed that a US Marine had been arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury. The case was also not made public by the police at the time, citing the victim's privacy.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of the two incidents but refrained from providing the information to the Okinawa prefectural government, taking the police's decision into account, the report said.

In the wake of the revelations of these sex crimes involving US military personnel, the Japanese government earlier this month reviewed information-sharing arrangements with local governments, vowing to notify municipalities of any crimes allegedly committed by US military members "without exception," the report added.

Okinawa hosts 70 percent of all the US military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 percent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by US service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals.

The rape of a 12-year-old Okinawa schoolgirl by three US servicemen in 1995 prompted a wave of public outrage. Other cases include the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in 2016 by a former US base worker who was later sentenced to life in prison, according to Kyodo News.