GI ASSAULT ON GIRL

 
     Local Police Obtained a warrant on September 8 for the 
 arrest of three US servicemen accused of sexually 
 assaulting an elementary school pupil on September 4 in the 
 northern part of Okinawa Island.
     Though the police are seeking to detain the three, the 
 US military authorities continue to hold them in military 
 bases and personnel. They can only be transferred to the 
 Japanese authorities after an indictment.
     Detained are Marcus D Gill,22, of the US Navy, Kendrick 
 Maurice Ledet,20 ,and Rodrico Harp,21 ,all Marine coops 
 servicemen. They allegedly abducted a 12-years-old -girl, 
 snatching her off the street and forcing her into a car, 
 and assaulted her near beach after tying her up with 
 adhesive. 
     Governor Ota, addressing a press gathering  of 
 September 11, said "It's very sad and regrettable. It's 
 beyond me to find words adequate to  explain the pain in my 
 heart." He went on in emphatic tones  to say, "A mere 
 apology is not enough. It's not a matter of words. And then 
 there is the of compensation."
     The governor condemned an agreement that enshrines a 
 principle  allowing  the US military to retain those sought
  by local police in connection with criminal offenses. 
     The US Consul  General Aloysius M. O'Neill came to see 
 Governor Ota on September 11 to express his regrets and 
 pledged full cooperation with local police investigations 
 while the three remained in military  custody.
     The Okinawa Area Coordinator of the US military, Major 
 General  Wayne E. Rollings, sent a message of apology to 
 the  governor in the evening, but Ota refused to accept it, 
 insisting, "The General should first have come in person to 
 make in apology."
                  (Sept. 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, eds)