U.S. Servicemen Plead Guilty In Rape Of Okinawan Girl, 12 -- Seaman, 2 Marines Admit Roles In Attack

NAHA, Japan - Before a rapt courtroom, an American sailor today admitted raping a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl, an attack that outraged Japanese and strained security ties between the two nations. Two Marines acknowledged helping plan and carry out the assault.

"I wish to kill those three American soldiers," the girl's father wrote in an anguished statement to the court. "I hope they will be kept in jail as long as they live," wrote the girl, adding that all foreigners frighten her now.

The case - which could result in a life sentence for the sailor,

- is the most highly charged in memory involving American military personnel in Japan.

Demands that the 26,000-strong U.S. force on the island of Okinawa be sharply reduced have caused huge political headaches for the Japanese government, and the issue threatens to overshadow President Clinton's visit to Japan this month.

The accused are Marine Pfc. Rodrico Harp, 21, of Griffin, Ga.; Pfc. Kendrick M. Ledet, 20, of Waycross, Ga.; and Navy Seaman Marcus D. Gill, 22, of Woodville, Texas.

Gill pleaded guilty to all charges - confinement and rape causing injury - shortly after proceedings got under way in Naha District Court. The two Marines admitted to helping plot the attack and Harp acknowledged hitting the girl as she was abducted, but they denied raping her.

The prosecution said all three were guilty of rape, although they did not accuse Ledet of actually penetrating the girl. Under Japanese law, a defendant can be found guilty of rape without actual penetration.

As the defendants were brought to court from a nearby detention center, Japanese guards protected them with metal shields. They were led into court in handcuffs, and listened impassively to the charges against them, read in Japanese with English translation provided.

The prosecution painted a chilling picture of the three stalking the girl as she shopped for a school notebook, grabbing her in a headlock and slapping her as they forced her into their rented van. They said they taped her eyes and mouth and tied her hands, then took her to an isolated beach where, according to the charges, they took turns raping her.

After the attack, the girl was untied and allowed to flee. She found her way home and her family reported the crime.

Even with admissions by the three of varying degrees of guilt, it could take months before the three-judge panel reaches verdicts and passes sentence.

Japanese trials do not occur in consecutive daily sessions; hearings are separated by weeks or even months. The next session was set for Dec. 4, and there are expected to be at least three more trial days.

The charges to which Gill pleaded guilty carry a maximum sentence of life. It was not immediately clear how long a sentence the other two could face if the judges convicted them of lesser charges instead.

Even if they were found guilty of rape, the sentence could be shorter if the judges conclude they participated in the overall assault but not the actual rape.

The accused, through their lawyers, offered in court to pay unspecified restitution to the victim, but there was no word on whether any such payment would be accepted.

On Okinawa, emotions are running high. Housewife Sachiko Oshiro, among the several hundred people who entered a lottery for fewer than three dozen spectators' gallery seats, said she hoped the case would lead to some troop withdrawal.

"More than that," she said, "I'd like it to serve as a lesson for Americans here to behave themselves."

The case set off heated debate about treatment of U.S. troops accused of crimes in Japan. The three were arrested by U.S. military police Sept. 6 and initially held in U.S. custody. They were turned over to Japanese authorities after being indicted on Sept. 29.

After a public outcry, the U.S. side agreed to give case-by-case consideration to turning over suspects more quickly.

Gill is married with two children; Harp is married with one child.

More than one-fifth of Okinawa is reserved for U.S. military use; the Americans' presence reminds many Okinawans of their wartime suffering.

The island chain was ravaged in the last major battle of World War II, then kept under American jurisdiction until 1972.

Material from the Los Angeles Times and Reuters is included in this report.