Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a U.S. Marine based in Okinawa with raping and beating a Japanese woman in May.
Lance Cpl. Jose Torres, based at Camp Hansen in the town of Kin, is accused of rape resulting in injury. He was arrested by Japanese police June 18 after the United States agreed to hand him over prior to indictment.
Torres, 21, allegedly hit the woman once in the face and raped her at around 3:15 a.m. May 25 on a road in Kin, according to the indictment. Her nose was broken.
Okinawa Prefectural Police obtained an arrest warrant for Torres on June 16 and the Japanese government presented its request for a handover to U.S. officials in a meeting of the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee the same day. He was turned over to police two days later.
Under the Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the operation and management of U.S. forces in Japan, the U.S. military is not required to hand over suspects to Japanese authorities until they are indicted.