Okinawa rape trial to start Nov. 7

Okinawa rape trial to start Nov. 7

TOKYO (AFP): Three U.S. servicemen accused of abducting and
raping a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa, in a case that has strained
Japan-U.S. ties, will stand trial from Nov. 7, court officials
said yesterday.

U.S. Navy seaman Marcus Gill, 22, and U.S. marines, Kendrick
Ledet, 20, and Rodrico Harp, 21, will be tried at the district
court in Naha, the Okinawa capital, where they are currently
detained.

They could be jailed for life if convicted of rape. Abduction
and confinement carries a jail term of between three months and
five years.

The girl was abducted in a street as she returned home after
shopping on Sept. 4. She was later raped and beaten on a beach.
The case has rekindled anti-U.S. sentiment in Okinawa, Japan's
southernmost province, which was ruled by the United States until
1972. It is now home to 27,000 of the 45,000 U.S. troops in
Japan.