Marine in Okinawa rape case released

By Chisa Fujioka

TOKYO (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine arrested earlier this month on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl was released by Japanese authorities on Friday, a spokesman for the U.S. military on the southern island of Okinawa said.

In the latest twist in an incident that had caused outrage in Japan, 38-year-old Tyrone Hadnott was freed after prosecutors decided not to press charges as the girl had dropped the accusation against him, Kyodo news agency reported.

The arrest had revived bitter memories of the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl on the island in 1995, which sparked huge protests against U.S. bases there and raised doubts about the bilateral security alliance.

"He is in Marine Corps custody. They released him to us," Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Powell told Reuters.

The Marines were still investigating the case, Powell said, adding that it was "premature to speculate on any further legal action on our part".

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told reporters he did not know the details of the prosecutors' decision but said: "Japan and the United States need to cooperate with each other so that incidents like this will never happen again," Kyodo reported.

Hadnott had been arrested on suspicion of raping the girl in a car on Okinawa island, where the bulk of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan are based under a treaty signed after World War Two. Police have said he denied raping the girl but admitted forcing her to kiss him.

"We've determined it isn't appropriate to indict the suspect by applying charges ... out of consideration for the victim's feelings," Kyodo quoted Yaichiro Yamashiki, chief prosecutor at the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office in Okinawa, as saying.