NAHA — The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on Sept. 20 indicted a U.S. Marine on a charge of raping and injuring a local woman in the north of Okinawa’s main island.
Lance Cpl. Michael Hofmaster, 20, had been in the custody of the U.S. military, but he was handed over to Japanese authorities following his indictment in accordance with the Japan-U.S. Status-of-Forces Agreement. It is the third case this year in which a member of the U.S. military has been charged with sexual assault in Okinawa.
According to the indictment and Okinawa Prefectural Police, Hofmaster allegedly grabbed a female acquaintance by the shoulders, pushed her down and raped her on June 21 outside a U.S. military base, leaving her with physical injuries requiring about a month to heal. The district prosecutors’ office has not disclosed whether he has admitted to the allegations.
A medical institution that treated the woman after the incident reported it to Okinawa Prefectural Police. Officers questioned the Marine on a voluntary basis with the cooperation of the U.S. military, and sent papers to public prosecutors on Sept. 5 accusing him of rape resulting in injury.
In Okinawa Prefecture, a U.S. airman was indicted in March 2024 on suspicion of taking a girl into his home in December 2023 and raping her. His trial remains in progress. Then in May, a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape and injuring an adult woman, and indicted on June 17.
In both these cases, prefectural police and the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office did not publicly release details of the incidents before they appeared in news reports in late June. It also emerged that investigative authorities and the Japanese government were aware of the incidents but had not reported them to the Okinawa Prefectural Government.
In July 2024, Okinawa Prefectural Police changed their policy on sharing information and in the latest incident contacted the Okinawa Prefectural Government on the day papers were sent to public prosecutors on Sept. 5. The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office also reported the Sept. 20 indictment to news organizations the same day.
Regarding its policy on making announcements, the prosecutors’ office said it makes decisions “on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the public interest necessity and privacy.” The Ministry of Defense’s Okinawa Defense Bureau also contacted the prefectural government about the indictment on Sept. 20.
(Japanese original by Shinnosuke Kyan, Kyushu Photo and Video Department)
US Marine charged with raping Okinawa woman, handed to Japanese authorities
