Tokyo: The US military said today it had given a Marine a two-year prison term and dishonourable discharge for sexual misconduct with a Japanese woman, even though he was cleared of charges of gang-rape.

The case in Hiroshima was one of a series of alleged crimes by US troops that has stirred public anger in Japan, a close US ally, leading Washington to pledge tougher discipline.

Lance Corporal Larry Dean, 20, is one of four Marines who was court-martialled after a young woman said that they gang-raped her in a car in October in the western city.

The military decided to court-martial the men even though Japanese prosecutors dropped the case, reportedly because the alleged victim had changed her story and may have consented to sex with one man.

A court-martial found that Dean was guilty of "wrongful sexual contact and indecent acts" along with violating military orders.

But the military judge, Major Charles Hale, found him not guilty on charges of rape and conspiracy to rape, a military statement said.

The judge today sentenced Dean to two years confinement and dishonourably discharged him from the military. His rank was reduced to private and he was forced to forfeit pay.

A woman, who was 19 at the time of the incident in October, said the soldiers raped her in a car and then stole her money. But the court-martial also cleared Dean of charges of kidnapping or receiving stolen property.

It was the first verdict announced for the four servicemen.
Source : PTI