U.S. Airman in Okinawa Charged in Teen’s Rape

A senior airman has been charged with raping a 14-year-old American girl last month on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the U.S. Air Force said today.

Tensions between the Okinawans and the U.S. military are already at their highest level after the rape in September of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl, for which three American servicemen are on trial.

In the latest allegations, charges of rape, conducting indecent acts, adultery and wrongfully providing alcohol to minors have been filed against Senior Airman Anthony T. Williams Jr., a spokeswoman for Kadena Air Base said.

The spokeswoman, Lt. Tania Dutko, said the alleged rape was first reported by the victim’s school counselor Dec. 12. Charges were filed Wednesday, and a hearing to determine whether a court-martial will be convened is scheduled for Feb. 7.

Dutko said the teenager is the daughter of an Air Force serviceman stationed in Okinawa. She could not immediately provide more details, including Williams’ hometown.

The case comes amid increasing calls for the U.S. military to withdraw from Okinawa, which has for decades been one of the United States’ most important military outposts in the Pacific.

More than half the 47,000 American troops in Japan are based in Okinawa, which is a small island on Japan’s southern fringe. Kadena Air Base is the largest Air Force base outside the United States.

Today’s announcement is the third accusation of rape involving U.S. military personnel in Okinawa since the one in September. No charges have been filed in the two other cases.

The military in Okinawa has often been slow in releasing information regarding rape allegations, and today’s announcement came only after the story was reported in the military newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes.

That report quoted the teenager’s mother as saying the military had dragged its feet in the investigation. The Air Force denied that allegation.

Final arguments in the rape trial of the three U.S. servicemen in the September case are scheduled next week, and a ruling is expected about three weeks later.