February 15, 2008U.S. Marines are dangerous, screams Shukan Shincho (2/21) and the junior high schoolgirl knew that for sure, but still ended up going along with the staff sergeant now under arrest for raping her -- a charge he vehemently denies.
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott apparently met the 14-year-old girl the weekly refers to by the pseudonym "Chiaki Hibi" in a place called Koza Music Town, an entertainment area in the city of Okinawa.At about 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 10, Hadnott rode into the area on his Harley Davidson and began talking to a group of three schoolgirls, including Chiaki, who had just attended a fashion show at Koza Music Town.
"Chiaki was originally part of a group of five, but by 8:30 there were only three of them still hanging out together. Hadnott asked Chiaki something like where she'd bought the knit hat she was wearing. They got talking in a mix of English and Japanese, and after about four or five minutes, Chiaki asked him if he'd give her a ride on his bike as a joke. He said 'OK,' and that's how she got on the bike," an investigation insider tells Shukan Shincho.
The girl apparently thought the Marine would give her a lift home. Her two friends assumed she was only going for a joyride and would come back in 10 minutes at most.
"The bike headed off to Kitanakagusuku, a kilometer away, where Hadnott's home is," the insider says.
Kitanakagusuku was once mostly inhabited by non-Japanese, the vast majority of them associated with the U.S. military in Okinawa. Now, however, there is also a strong mix of Japanese living in the district, the weekly notes. Hadnott lived in the district with a Japanese wife, from whom he has been separated for about two years. One of his neighbors described the staff sergeant for the magazine.
Photo: Tyrone Luther Hadnott, the U.S. Marine accused of raping a junior high school girl."He's well-built, standing over 180 centimeters tall. He's a fair-skinned black guy who looks more like a Caucasian. If you met him, he'd say things in Japanese like 'konnichiwa (hello),' 'atsui desu ne (it's hot isn't it?)' and the like. But then, I remember his TV antenna blew down in a typhoon and he said 'antenna ga kowarechatta (my antenna's busted),' so I figured he spoke quite a bit of Japanese," the neighbor tells Shukan Shincho. "For some reason, he shared his house with an older white guy. They were always taking all these Japanese women in their 20s into the house."
Hadnott allegedly took Chiaki into the house, too.
"For about 20 minutes, he tried to pressure Chiaki into a physical relationship, but she kept refusing and couldn't stop crying. She said she wanted to go and ran out of the house, heading into a grove nearby. Hadnott ran after her, saying he'd take her home in his car. But when they did get into the vehicle, he didn't head for her home in (the city of) Okinawa, but went to (the nearby town of) Chatan instead. Chiaki got a moment to herself and called a male friend on her mobile phone. She begged him for help, but couldn't tell him where she was because she didn't know herself," the investigation insider says. "The phone stayed connected for a short while before the friend on the other end of the line heard someone say 'Shaddup,' something like a slapping sound, then some English and music before the line went dead about 30 minutes later."
Photo: Shukan Shincho (2/21)At about the same time back in Koza Music Town, the male friend Chiaki called had met up with the two buddies she had been with when Hadnott came along. The three realized something was amiss. Eventually, they contacted the girl's relatives and, just before 10:30 that night, arrived at Okinawa Police Station. While they were there, Chiaki called and said she was in a park in Chatan. Officers raced to the scene and heard Chiaki's side of what had happened to her.
Based on her statements, they went to Hadnott's Kitanakagusuku home and found a black station wagon the girl had talked about. They also found Hadnott, who admitted he had taken the girl in his car. He would later be arrested for raping her.
"It's ironic this case began at Koza Music Town," Okinawa-based journalist Ryunosuke Megumi tells Shukan Shincho. "After a black American soldier raped a woman a few years ago, the Japanese government, which is responsible for the bases, paid for the area to be built with taxpayers' money as a form of apology."
The magazine promptly rattles off a litany of sex crimes U.S. military members have committed in Okinawa over the past few years.
Those in Koza Music Town say the tragic case would never have happened had Hadnott approached a local girl.
"While kids born in Koza know what benefits the bases have brought the area, they also know really well just how scary the American military can be," a Koza shop owner tells Shukan Shincho. "There's always a tension in the air when dealing with the American soldiers and none of the local girls would ever think about going off with someone in the U.S. military on a whim."
A lawyer based in the city of Okinawa tells a slightly different story.
"Apart from some areas, there are lots of girls around who want to use the English they've studied at school and the best way for them to do that is have a chat with a handsome American soldier," he says.
When told the alleged victim came from distant Ginowan and not Koza, the shop owner was not surprised.
"It simply wouldn't happen to anyone who grew up in Koza," the retailer tells Shukan Shincho. "The bases near Ginowan aren't anywhere near the size of the ones here in Koza. I'd say she probably went with the guy because, unlike the kids from around here, she simply didn't know how terrifying the American soldiers are." (By Ryann Connell)
(Mainichi Japan) February 15, 2008