Army to court martial soldier in Japan

[unhappycamper]

Army to court martial soldier in Japan
By Mari Yamaguchi - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Nov 26, 2008 8:31:39 EST

TOKYO — The U.S. military will court martial an American soldier accused of raping a Filipino woman in southern Japan, the Army said Wednesday, after Japanese authorities dropped charges against him.

Army specialist Ronald Hopstock, 25, who allegedly assaulted the woman in an Okinawa hotel room in February, will be the latest in a series of U.S. military personnel to be tried for attacks on women in Japan this year.

Hopstock will be court martialed in February 2009, Army spokeswoman Amanda Kraus said. Details of the trial, including the date and venue, have not been announced.

Japanese prosecutors dismissed the rape charges in May after finding insufficient evidence. Army investigators have since pursued the case.

Hopstock faces three additional charges of sodomy, soliciting a prostitute and disobeying lawful order, but those charges are not related to the alleged rape, Kraus said. He is assigned to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, but the Army did not name his hometown.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_japan_military_112508/%2e