U.S. Apologizes For Schoolgirl’s Rape

Trying to assuage anger against the U.S. military, the U.S. ambassador and the commander of American forces in Japan apologized Tuesday for the rape of a schoolgirl allegedly committed by three U.S. servicemen.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman said the United States will hand over the three suspects, who are being held in a Marine brig, if they are charged by Japanese authorities.

The attack on the 12-year-old Okinawan girl has brought renewed calls to scrap an agreement that grants special legal status to U.S. military personnel in Japan.

The suspects - Marine Pfc. Rodrico Harp, 21, of Griffin, Ga.; Pfc. Kendrick M. Ledet, 20, of Waycross, Ga.; and Navy Seaman Marcus D. Gill, 22, of Jasper, Texas - allegedly abducted the girl near her home in northern Okinawa on Sept. 4, then raped her at a nearby beach.

Although the U.S. military isn’t required to hand over the suspects to Japanese authorities until formal charges are filed, Okinawan media and politicians have slammed the continued U.S. custody as arrogant and insensitive.