Quote:
Originally posted by hypoluxa3k@24 July 2003 - 11:10
TOKYO (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of raping a woman on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, a U.S. forces spokesman said, in a case that stirred fresh resentment against the U.S. military presence there.
Lance Corporal Jose W. Torres, 21, was arrested by Okinawan police in June on suspicion of raping a 19-year-old Japanese woman after punching her in the face in the early hours of May 25 in an entertainment area near a U.S. base.
He was later indicted by prosecutors in Okinawa.
In the first court session of his trial in the Okinawan capital Naha, Torres pleaded guilty to charges of rape and assault, said Colonel Victor Warzinski, U.S. Forces Japan director of public affairs.
"I'm able to confirm that Lance Corporal Torres did in fact plead guilty... The charges as I understand it are rape and assault," Warzinski said.
An official at the Naha District Court said the next court session for Torres has been set for August 13.
Okinawa is home to about half the U.S. military presence in Japan and incidents such as the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three American servicemen have prompted calls to shift the U.S. troops away or reduce their numbers.
while your at it, let's not forget Idi Amin, a former member of the BritishColonial King's African Rifles, who later gain control of Uganda and oversaw the torture and killing of over 200,000 Ugandan civilians.