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Okinawa cops arrest U.S. sailor in rape of woman in Naha

Camp Schwab in Okinawa
Camp Schwab in Okinawa (Wikipedia)

OKINAWA (TR) – Okinawa Prefectural Police on Sunday arrested a U.S. Navy sailor for allegedly raping a woman in Naha City, reports NHK (Mar. 13).

Between approximately 1:15 a.m. and 4:05 a.m. on Sunday morning, Justin Castellanos, a 24-year-old first-class seaman from Camp Schwab, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the woman, a tourist in her 40s from Fukuoka Prefecture, inside a room of a business hotel.

Castellanos, who was staying on the same floor as the woman, denies the charges. “This arrest is a mistake,” the suspect is quoted by police.

Prior to the incident, the woman had been out drinking. The suspect found the victim sleeping in a corridor of the hotel and brought her to his room where the alleged crime was committed. The woman then contacted an acquaintance who notified police.

Castellanos was not previously acquainted with the victim.

Before arresting Castellanos, police viewed security camera footage and spoke with hotel staff members to confirm that the suspect took the woman to his room, according to the Asahi Shimbun (Mar. 13).