Posted on 09/10/2001 8:31:05 PM PDT by kattracks
NAHA, Japan (Reuters) - A U.S. airman accused of raping a woman in a Japanese parking lot pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, two months after the incident that threatened to fray the strategic alliance between the two nations.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Timothy Woodland, 24, was charged with raping the woman in June in a case that revived resentment toward U.S. forces on southern Okinawa island, reluctant host to the bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
``I want to say that we had sex but it was consensual,'' the tall, slender Woodland, wearing a double-breasted beige suit, told the court in a calm voice.
``I did not rape her,'' he said.
A U.S. delay of several days in handing over Woodland to Japanese police had added to the ire of local residents.
The prosecution charged that Woodland raped the woman on the hood of a car in a shopping center parking lot at around 2:00 a.m. on June 29 as she pounded on the vehicle shouting: ''No, no.''
``I cannot forgive the suspect. I am also angry at the fact that he says it was consensual sex,'' prosecutors quoted the 24-year-old woman as telling them.
``I don't need compensation or any other payments, I just don't want him ever to appear in front of me again,'' she said.
Woodland's lawyer, Tsuyoshi Arakaki, however, told the district court in Naha, Okinawa's capital, that the woman had consented to have sex and no violence was involved.
RIGHTS CONCERNS
The U.S. government had delayed handing Woodland over to Japanese authorities until it had received assurances that he would be given fair treatment by Japanese police.
Japanese law generally provides fewer protections for defendants than in the United States, and acquittals are very rare.
Human rights activists have said Japanese police use the lengthy detention period -- up to 23 days -- to force confessions out of suspects.
Sources close to the case said it was likely to proceed quickly by Japanese standards with a ruling expected in six to seven months.
``There is a possibility that it may end rather quickly. There will be consideration given to the diplomatic consequences,'' said one source who declined to be identified.
DISPUTE OVER U.S. MILITARY
Washington's foot-dragging in handing over Woodland has led to Japanese calls to revise the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the pact governing the conduct of the U.S. military in Japan.
Under the treaty, the United States need not hand over suspects until they are charged by Japanese prosecutors, except in cases of ``heinous'' crime.
The two countries revised the implementation of the pact by setting exceptions following the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese school girl on Okinawa by three U.S. servicemen, but many Okinawans have said they feel that that is not enough.
``It's frustrating not to be able to deal with a case that happened locally. It's frustrating to have the suspect in front of you while (the authorities) cannot get their hands on him,'' said Nanase Kedashiro, a 22-year-old university student who attended the trial.
Woodland was only the second serviceman to be handed over to Japanese authorities before the indictment.
The governor of Okinawa has called for SOFA's revision and a reduction of the U.S. military presence on the tropical island, which has less than one percent of Japan's land area, but houses about half the U.S. military in Japan.
Okinawa, 1,000 miles south of Tokyo, is the forward base for U.S. forces in Asia, from which they can closely monitor both North Korea (news - web sites) and China.
But U.S. officials have dismissed demands for a revision of SOFA, saying that rather than touching on the treaty itself, its implementation rules should be discussed.
This guy is going to jail whether he is innocent or guilty — I guarantee you.
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