US airman pleads not guilty to sexual assault of minor in Okinawa

NAHA (Kyodo) -- A U.S. Air Force member in Okinawa Prefecture pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges related to the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault in December of a girl who was under the age of 16.

The case did not come to light until late June, around three months after his indictment, as local police decided not to disclose the incident. That decision has inflamed strong and long-existing anti-base sentiment in the prefecture, which hosts the majority of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

At his first hearing at the Naha District Court, Brennon Washington, 25, said, "I'm not guilty."

According to the indictment dated March 27, Washington is alleged to have asked the girl to speak to him in his car at a park in the village of Yomitan on Dec. 24 and then drove her to his off-base residence before committing sexual acts despite knowing she was not yet 16, the age of consent in Japan.

Prosecutors presented as evidence security camera footage showing the two interacting in the park and photos of the defendant found on the girl's smartphone. They also said the girl, upon returning home, had tearfully reported the incident to her mother, who then called the police.

The defense argued that Washington believed the girl was 18 and had invited her to his home based on the flow of their conversation, with the sexual acts performed with consent.

Washington is stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, according to the Okinawa prefectural government. He was handed over to Japanese authorities following the indictment but was released after posting bail and is currently in U.S. custody, it said.

Days after Washington's case came to light, it was revealed that a U.S. Marine had been arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury. The case was also not made public by the police at the time, citing the victim's privacy.

In the wake of the revelations of these sex crimes involving U.S. servicemen, the Japanese government earlier this month reviewed information-sharing arrangements with local governments, vowing to notify municipalities of any crimes allegedly committed by U.S. military members "without exception."

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who in a statement Friday expressed "deep regret" over the alleged incidents, indicated that concrete measures were being taken to improve the training and education of U.S. military personnel stationed in Okinawa.

"As guests of Japan and guarantors of our shared peace and security, we can do better, we should do better, and, crucially, we will do better," he said.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry was aware of the two incidents but refrained from providing the information to the Okinawa prefectural government, taking the police's decision into account, according to the government.

Okinawa continues to bear a heavy load as host to many U.S. military facilities more than half a century after its 1972 reversion from U.S. control following Japan's defeat in World War II. Crimes committed by U.S. service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals.

The rape of a 12-year-old Okinawa schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen in 1995 prompted a wave of public outrage. Other cases include the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in 2016 by a former U.S. base worker who was later sentenced to life in prison.