US airman is accused of assaulting teenage boy

Published on 03/11/2012 00:00

AN AMERICAN airman has been accused of assaulting a 13-year-old boy on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, authorities said yesterday.

The alleged incident comes a fortnight after a curfew was imposed on all 52,000 US troops in Japan following the arrest of two navy sailors for the alleged rape of a local woman in Okinawa.

The 24-year-old airman is accused of entering a third-floor flat and punching the boy before breaking a television set. The airman is said to have been drinking in a bar on the ground floor of the apartment block.

He attempted to leave the flat through a window but fell and was taken to a military hospital at Kadena Air Base, where he is stationed, for treatment for suspected broken bones and internal injuries.

Japan’s foreign ministry said a formal complaint had been lodged with US ambassador John Roos.

After meeting Japanese representatives, Mr Roos said: “Let me be absolutely clear: I am very upset with the reported incident in Okinawa. It is incredibly unfortunate that the purported actions of a few reflect badly on thousands of young men and women here in Japan, away from their homes, that are here for the defence of Japan.”

Defence minister Satoshi ­Morimoto called the incident “unforgivable”.

Military-related crime is an emotional issue on Okinawa, and all US troops in Japan were put under a curfew from 11pm to 5am after the sailors were arrested for the alleged rape there on 16 October. Friday’s incident is believed to have occurred at about 1am.

Colonel Brian McDaniel, vice-commander of Kadena’s 18th Wing, said: “We are fully co-operating with Okinawan authorities on this investigation.”