Third military member charged with sexual assault in year of discontent on Okinawa

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japanese prosecutors last week charged a U.S. Marine on Okinawa with sexually assaulting and assaulting a woman this summer, the third such case on the island since December.

Lance Cpl. Michael Hofmaster, 20, was charged Friday by the Naha District Prosecutor's Office in connection with a June 21 incident in Nago City, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, prosecutors allege that Hofmaster grabbed the woman by the shoulders, pushed her onto a bed and sexually assaulted her. He also “caused lacerations to her vagina that took a month to heal and resulted in the woman spending seven days in the hospital.”

Hofmaster is with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Hansen, III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman 1st Lt. Owen Hitchcock said via email Monday. Hofmaster is in Japanese custody, he said.

The Marine Corps “is cooperating with all appropriate local authorities throughout the process,” Hitchcock wrote.

“The alleged conduct does not reflect the core values ​​of the U.S. military,” he said. “The U.S. military goes to great lengths to instill these values ​​in every Marine through regular education and training throughout their service.”

The Okinawa Prefectural Police referred Hofmaster's case to prosecutors on Sept. 5, a spokesman for the agency said that day. Hofmaster was in military facilities in Japan at the time, according to III MEF.

The woman is over 20 years old and an acquaintance of Hofmaster, a spokesman for the police investigation team said on September 5. The medical staff who treated the woman reported the incident to the police, the spokesman said.

Some Japanese government officials are allowed to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

This case follows the indictment of two U.S. soldiers by Japanese prosecutors on charges of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, which came to light over the summer and shocked Okinawa.

Senior Airman Brennon RE Washington pleaded not guilty in Naha District Court on July 12 to charges of kidnapping and sexual abuse of a minor in December. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton was charged in May with attempted sexual assault of a woman in Yomitan.

These cases led to formal complaints from the prefecture to the U.S. Embassy, ​​the U.S. military and the Japanese government, as well as calls for changes to the Status of Forces Agreement that governs the U.S. military population in Japan.

The commander of U.S. forces in Japan, Lt. Gen. Ricky Rupp, announced in July a “new cooperation forum” with the Japanese and Okinawan governments and members of the community.

In response to the incidents, the Marine Corps has increased screening measures at Okinawa's popular nightspots and tests nearly 100 percent of attendees for alcohol on weekends at all of its bases in Japan.

Rupp, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and III MEF Commander Lt. Gen. Roger Turner called for a uniform freedom policy for all US troops in Japan. However, no changes have been announced so far.