Member of U.S. military involved in home invasion and assault of a junior high school student

Member of U.S. military involved in home invasion and assault of a junior high school student

At around 9:05am on November 2 in the Furugen district of Yomitan - the apartment into which a man who appears to be a member of the U.S. Air Force, trespassed and assaulted a junior high school student.


November 3, 2012 Ryukyu Shimpo

At around 1:00am on November 2, the Kadena Police Station received an emergency call from a bar in the Furugen district of Yomitan to the effect that a member of the U.S. military was drunk and causing a disturbance. The man was found by the police after he had collapsed near the bar, from there was taken to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Chatan, where it was established that he has broken ribs and a punctured lung. Just before the police arrived at the scene, a man who appeared to be a member of the U.S. military entered an apartment on the third floor of the same building as the bar and hit a 13 year-old junior high school student who was asleep. When they can get to see the injured man after he recovers, the police plan to ascertain whether he actually did commit acts of trespass, assault and damage to property.

The U.S. military forces in Japan have placed a nighttime curfew on all their military personnel in Japan from 11:00pm to 5:00am following the alleged rape of a woman in the central region of the main island of Okinawa on October 16 by two U.S. military personnel.

With regard to the investigation of the man, if he does turn out to be a member of the U.S. military, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura stated, “We do not think it will be necessary to formally request the man to be handed over before charges are laid.” An increasing number of Okinawan people have voiced their strong displeasure with this statement made before the Okinawan Prefectural Government completes its investigation.

According to a police representative, the junior high school student suffered a bruise on his left cheek, which take a week to heal. The man’s identification card, which he dropped at the scene, identifies him as a 24 year-old member of the U.S. military stationed at Kadena Air Base. After assaulting the boy, and damaging a television in the room, the man is said to have had a fall when trying to get out through a window. An elementary school age boy who was also in the room at the time was not injured.

The mother of the boy hurt in the incident was incensed, saying, “I am shaking with anger to hear that the police took the man to the naval hospital, and so he was not able to be taken into custody. It is outrageous that a man would assault a young boy like this.”

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