TOKYO - The U.S. military will court-martial four Marines in Japan for the alleged rape of a Japanese woman, a Marine Corps official said Thursday.
The general courts-martial will begin next month, said Master Gunnery Sgt. John Cordero of the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni in southern Japan.
The four Marines — accused of an attack on a 19-year-old woman in October — were charged by the military in December.
Japanese authorities investigated the incident but local prosecutors dropped the case in November. Officials refused to provide reasons for not pursuing prosecution.
Lans Cpl. Larry A. Dean, 20, will face the court in April and Sgt. Lanaeus J. Braswell, 25, in May, Cordero said.
Dates for two other Marines — Gunnery Sgt. Carl M. Anderson, 39, and Gunnery Sgt. Jarvis D. Raynor, 34, have not been set yet, he said, adding that the military is not releasing their hometowns.
The decision to court-martial them followed preliminary hearings last month, according to Cordero.