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.