Gate 2 at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, as seen Feb. 18, 2024. (Jessi Roth/U.S. Air Force)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa - Japanese prosecutors have charged a U.S. airman at Kadena Air Base with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor in December.
Prosecutors indicted the airman, Brennon R. E. Washington, 25, on March 27 on charges of indecent kidnapping and nonconsensual sexual intercourse.
Neither police nor the prosecutors had publicly released information about the airmen’s indictment prior to scheduling him Monday for a hearing July 12 in Naha District Court.
According to the indictment provided by Naha District Public Prosecutors Office, Washington approached the girl in a park in Yomitan village Dec. 24 “with the purpose of kidnapping and conducting indecent acts on her.”
The prosecutor’s office and Okinawa Prefectural Police declined Wednesday to provide further details of the investigation.
Stars and Stripes could not reach Washington on Wednesday for comment on the charges against him. Police and prosecutors would not confirm reports in Japanese media that the airman is in custody. Contact information for his attorney was not available Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege the airman got the minor into his car by saying, “Let’s talk in the car because it’s cold.”
From the park he drove the girl to his home off base, where he sexually assaulted her, knowing she was under 16, according to the indictment.
A person who knows the girl reported the incident to police on the same day, a spokesman for the prefectural police told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday.
“We conducted investigations cooperating with U.S. officials,” the spokesman said. The case was sent to the prosecutors March 11.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said the incident “not only causes strong concern to the locals but also violates women’s dignity,” a spokeswoman for the prefecture’s Military Base Affairs Division told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. “Considering that the victim is a minor, as being the responsible of the safety of the citizens of the prefecture, I’m utterly outraged and feel that this is extremely regrettable.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi used the same words at Tuesday press conference, telling reporters the incident “is extremely regrettable.”
Hayashi confirmed that Masataka Okano, Japan’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, filed a protest with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on the day the airman was charged.
The U.S. Embassy in Japan in an email Wednesday referred questions from Stars and Stripes to the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base.
The wing on Wednesday acknowledged that an airman was charged with sexual assault.
“Wing leadership is deeply concerned by the severity of this alleged crime and has worked diligently with local authorities to investigate the allegations thoroughly while ensuring due legal process under applicable laws and agreements,” wing spokesman 1st Lt. Alvin G. Nelson 3rd said by email Wednesday. “All U.S. service members are expected to uphold the highest standards, and the U.S. military is committed to holding those accountable who are convicted of criminal acts.”
