U.S. serviceman indicted in Japan on charges of attempted rape

TOKYO -- Japanese prosecutors charged a U.S. Marine officer Thursday with trying to rape a woman on Okinawa island and the United States later surrendered him to Japanese authorities, officials said.

Maj. Michael J. Brown, 39, was formally accused of attempted rape and destruction of private property and arrested by police, Naha prosecutors office spokesman Takeshi Arakaki said. Brown's detention came more than two weeks after an Okinawan court issued a warrant for his arrest.

U.S. officials initially refused police and Japanese government requests for custody, saying Brown only could be questioned -- not detained -- if formal charges were not filed.

The U.S. military agreed to hand over Brown after he was indicted.

Prosecutors allege Brown tried to rape a woman in a car on Okinawa on Nov. 2 and destroyed her cell phone. Police have refused to disclose the woman's nationality, but Japanese media said she is from the Philippines.

The incident allegedly took place off the U.S. base, giving Japanese authorities jurisdiction.

Brown has denied the allegations, according to Kyodo News agency.

No date has been set for Brown's trial. Japanese law allows prosecutors to hold a suspect for two months, after which they must request an extension from a court. Brown can ask a court to release him on bail.

The handling of U.S. suspects long has been a sensitive subject on Okinawa, where there have been frequent complaints of crimes connected with the heavy American military presence. Okinawa, about 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo, is home to more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

Under a mutual security pact, American authorities can retain custody over U.S. military personnel until they are indicted by Japanese prosecutors, but the United States agreed to be more flexible after the rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen in 1995 caused an uproar.

The U.S. military has declined to release Brown's hometown. He is assigned to Camp Courtney.