U.S. Airman Convicted of Rape in Japan

A court convicted a U.S. airman today of raping a Japanese woman and sentenced him to 32 months in prison, concluding a case that deepened resentment toward American troops stationed in Okinawa.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy B. Woodland went on trial in September after being charged with raping the 20-year-old woman in a parking lot outside a popular Okinawa nightclub June 29.

Prosecutors had demanded a three-year sentence for Woodland, who was tried in Naha District Court. Naha is Okinawa’s capital city.

The airman pleaded innocent to the allegations, saying he had consensual sex with the woman. His hometown and the name of the woman have not been released. Rape convictions in Japan typically carry prison sentences of two to 15 years.

“As far as the defense team is concerned, we are shocked because we were totally expecting a not guilty verdict,” said attorney Annette M. Eddie-Callagain. She said the defense is advising Woodland to appeal.

Woodland is to serve the sentence in a prison near Tokyo.

The case stoked smoldering resentment in a part of Japan where tens of thousands of U.S. troops are based and where residents are highly sensitive to military-related crimes.

It attracted intense media coverage and raised pressure on the Japanese government to revise an agreement with Washington that lets U.S. authorities hold military personnel suspected of crimes until they are formally charged.