YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A Guam-based sailor pleaded guilty Monday to 20 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Guam Superior Court after admitting to repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl.
Petty Officer 1st Class Bradford Laurence Lung, 30, was sentenced to life in prison, although he will be eligible for parole after 15 years, according to a pretrial plea agreement.
Lung forced the child into sex on a monthly basis from September 2010 through March 2012, according to the plea agreement. The child was 8 when Lung first began raping her, according to court records.
“We believe we reached a very good resolution to this very unfortunate case,” Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Vasiliades, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement Wednesday. “As a result of the collaboration between the Guam Police Department and [Naval Criminal Investigative Service], we were able to spare the victim the further trauma of a trial.”
The military still plans to prosecute Lung on charges originating outside of Guam, according to a Guam Pacific Daily News report of the trial.
Lung, a machinist’s mate formerly attached to the submarine tender USS Frank Cable, left Guam in Navy custody Wednesday morning. He will be transferred to the Navy brig in Miramar, Calif., said Navy spokesman Lt. Matt Knight on Wednesday.
“He has been placed in pretrial confinement pending a potential Article 32 investigation into possible violations of Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Knight said.
Article 120 includes rape, sexual assault and similar offenses.
Lung arrived on Guam in March 2009. Along with his wife and another person, he coached a youth soccer team. A Morale, Welfare and Recreation review of Lung’s activities concluded that Lung was never the only adult supervising the children while coaching, Knight said.
After Lung’s arrest, the base commander sent a letter to each parent with a child on the team, along with a list of optional counseling resources.
