Marine jailed, but cleared of rape

2008-05-09 11:01

Tokyo - A US Marine accused in an alleged gang rape of a Japanese woman last year was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday for "wrongful sexual contact and indecent acts" but cleared of rape, the U.S. military said.

Lance Corporal Larry A Dean, 20, was one of four Marines facing court-martial for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in the southern city of Hiroshima in October.

Dean was also found guilty on Thursday of "fraternisation and violating military orders about liberty and alcohol" but cleared of rape and kidnapping charges, according to a statement by the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni in southern Japan.

Dean was also dishonourably discharged. His sentence also included the forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a reduction in rank to private.

The other Marines charged are Gunnery Sergeant Carl M. Anderson, 39, Gunnery Sergeant Jarvis D Raynor, 34, and Sergeant Lanaeus J Braswell, 25. Anderson and Raynor will be court-martialled later this month and Braswell in June, said Master Gunnery Sergeant John Cordero on Friday.

Japanese authorities investigated the incident, but local prosecutors dropped the case in November.

About 50 000 US troops are based in Japan under a security pact between the two countries. Many Japanese complain of crime, pollution and noise associated with the bases.

Japanese anger over the US military presence has grown in recent months following an alleged rape in February of a 14-year-old girl by an American serviceman on the southern island of Okinawa, as well as the killing of a taxi driver near a US naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo.

- AP