U.S. Soldiers Accused Of Raping Teenagers

[oftheherd1]

Especially when you take this in to account:



I believe you are correct.



http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...stody-of-u-s-soldier-accused-of-rape-1.156950
http://www.stripes.com/soldier-char...pe-to-be-tried-in-south-korean-court-1.138219

Another interesting story is from a link provided from one of the stories above.

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...-status-of-forces-agreement-with-u-s-1.157548

USA bashing has been a popular sport in Korea since the assasination of Pak ChungHi. Note at the end of the story, the fact that Koreans don't like the FTA either. They don't want to be forced to accept any of our goods, only be able to sell them to us. Koreans, like many orientals can be coaxed into the streets rather easily, if their government, or favorite political party, or union, says it is a good idea. It's part of the confucian legacy.

I don't know what the SOFA says now, since it was apparently modified in 2001. But when I was there (over 7 years from 1974 to 1987), the Koreans still had primary jurisdiction. They just seldom exercised it. We have SOFA agreements with countries as we generally think our judician system has more protections than those of the foreign countries we have the SOFA with. We also have better jails. When I was there, for those US soldiers we had in Korean jails, The embassy checked on their welfare periodically, and the US Army fed them US meals every day.

 

[Carol]

Another interesting story is from a link provided from one of the stories above.

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...-status-of-forces-agreement-with-u-s-1.157548

USA bashing has been a popular sport in Korea since the assasination of Pak ChungHi. Note at the end of the story, the fact that Koreans don't like the FTA either. They don't want to be forced to accept any of our goods, only be able to sell them to us. Koreans, like many orientals can be coaxed into the streets rather easily, if their government, or favorite political party, or union, says it is a good idea. It's part of the confucian legacy.

I don't know what the SOFA says now, since it was apparently modified in 2001. But when I was there (over 7 years from 1974 to 1987), the Koreans still had primary jurisdiction. They just seldom exercised it. We have SOFA agreements with countries as we generally think our judician system has more protections than those of the foreign countries we have the SOFA with. We also have better jails. When I was there, for those US soldiers we had in Korean jails, The embassy checked on their welfare periodically, and the US Army fed them US meals every day.

Is this sounding more like a political agenda to you?

Partly curious as my 20 year old niece is serving as a MP, wouldn't be out of the question for her to be sent there.

 

[Tez3]

Of course the rapes could be real and some are looking to make political capital out of it, adding to the girls misery.

 

[David43515]

Either way, I think that it`s very important that our servicemen follow the laws of the country they`re serving in, and be subject to it`s punishments. If we expect these nations to see us as partners instead of an interfearance, or worse yet occupiers, we`ve got to be seen to be living by the same or higher standards than they set for themselves. We can`t try to protect someone from the consequences of breaking the law just because he wears our uniform. But I also think that it`s the job of the service to make sure that each soldier or sailor gets a fair trial. It`s a tough balancing act.

I tend to give most servicemen the benefit of the doubt. Until they prove otherwise I assume they`re moral and upstanding. But I`m also my mother`s son, my wife`s husband, and my daughters` dad. I can`t stomache the idea of men taking advantage of someone weaker than them, especially men we look to to protect the weak.

 

[Tez3]

Why do you all expect servicement to be more moral and more upstanding than the rest of the population, you ask them to kill people for you and do all the other dirty jobs but you want them to be purer than driven snow. I don't mean they should be allowed to rape etc but why hold them to a higher standard than anybody else? It's unfair, being a soldier is a job not a calling.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Update on this thread:

http://www.military.com/news/articl...ts-10-years-for-rape.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

US Soldier in SKorea Gets 10 Years for Rape
November 01, 2011
Associated Press|by Hyung-Jin Kim

SEOUL, South Korea -- A South Korean court sentenced a U.S. Soldier to 10 years in prison Tuesday for raping a teenage girl - the second harshest punishment handed down to a convicted American Soldier here in nearly 20 years.

Uijeongbu District Court convicted the 21-year-old private of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old girl numerous times after breaking into her small boarding room near Seoul in September, court spokesman Lee Sang-yup said.

The Soldier committed many "sadistic and sexually perverted acts" while threatening the girl with a pair of scissors, a knife and a lighter, Lee said. The Soldier robbed the girl of 5,000 won ($4.50) as well, he said.

The other case is apparently still being investigated.

 

[David43515]

Thanks for the update Bill.

Tez, I assume your last comment was in response to what I said. If I`m mistaken excuse me.
I don`t think of servicemen as automatically being better than the rest of us. Unless someone has given me reason to think otherwise I always like to think the best of people. When I meet someone new, I assume they`re honest and reasonably moral until they give me reason to doubt it. Just like I assume the people on the train with me are sane until I see something to prove me wrong. I assume most soldiers aren`t liars, theives, or rapists until or unless something happens to call that into question....just because I assume that about most people.

You`re right though that I probably do tend to give them the benfit of the doubt more than I would a civillian. It`s probably because All the men in my father`s family and his circle of friends were veterans, so were most of my older cousins. So I grew up thinking that most servicemen were like my Dad and uncles, good men you could look upto and who did what was right even when it wasn`t what would be easiest for them. Or because I tend to respect people who take responsabilty for things and work hard. But I`m not such an idealist as to think idiots and scumbags don`t enlist too. They do and sometimes they hang on for years. But I appreciate what you said, it made me stop and think.

 

[oftheherd1]

Is this sounding more like a political agenda to you?

Partly curious as my 20 year old niece is serving as a MP, wouldn't be out of the question for her to be sent there.

If a rape was commited, and from Bill's link, the Korean courts have said it did, the miscreant deserves harsh punishment. If my memory serves me, he will be confined to his cell unless he agrees to be with the rest of the population. The military will provide him with American meals, and an embassy official will visit periodically; I think once a month.

But yes, I suspect there is some political agenda at work as well. As to your neice, most likely if she goes there and watches her behavior, as I expect she would, she should not have a problem from most Koreans. If she thinks she may be going, she might want to see if her service offers a Korean Head Start program. The US Army used to do that, so a person could get a head start on learning the language and customs.

One thing I have been curious about is whether or not the young victim was a school girl or working in a factory. The former would be possible, but not common. The latter isn't uncommon there either. I noted it was a Uijongbu court. That is north of Seoul, but less isolated from Seoul than it was during MASH days. Not that it matters if she was raped by a serviceman, rape is wrong no matter who commits it, but I just wonder if Korean news is not reporting the latter if that is her status. Has anyone followed this enough to know?

Either way, I think that it`s very important that our servicemen follow the laws of the country they`re serving in, and be subject to it`s punishments. If we expect these nations to see us as partners instead of an interfearance, or worse yet occupiers, we`ve got to be seen to be living by the same or higher standards than they set for themselves. We can`t try to protect someone from the consequences of breaking the law just because he wears our uniform. But I also think that it`s the job of the service to make sure that each soldier or sailor gets a fair trial. It`s a tough balancing act.

I tend to give most servicemen the benefit of the doubt. Until they prove otherwise I assume they`re moral and upstanding. But I`m also my mother`s son, my wife`s husband, and my daughters` dad. I can`t stomache the idea of men taking advantage of someone weaker than them, especially men we look to to protect the weak.

Can't quite agree with you on this. Many countries don't have the legal safeguards we are accumstomed to in the USA. That is the main reason we prefer to try service members in our own courts. In many countries there is the belief that if you are in court, you are guilty. Otherwise you would not be in court. Also detention facilities aren't always to our standards.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

UPDATE:

http://www.military.com/news/articl...for-lighter-sentence.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

SEOUL – A South Korea appeals court Thursday rejected a U.S. soldier’s plea to reduce his 10-year prison sentence for the brutal rape of a Korean girl, saying he subjected the 17-year-old to “unimaginable” horror during the attack.

Seoul High Court Judge An Young-jin told Pvt. Kevin Flippin that while the three-judge panel took into consideration the soldier’s remorse for what he did, and that this was his first offense in South Korea, the sexual assault was too “perverted and sadistic” to reduce his prison sentence.

The story in the link is too graphic, I'm not going to quote it here. Suffice to say, he deserves a 10-year sentence, if not more. I don't care how drunk you are, what he did indicates serious moral depravity.

 

[Sukerkin]

Agreed, Bill :nods:.