Another US soldier charged with rape

By Yun Suh-young

A U.S. soldier is under investigation on suspicion of raping a teenage girl in Seoul, police said Friday.

This is only a day after another U.S. serviceman was indicted on charges of raping an 18 year-old in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

The Mapo Police Station said Friday that a U.S. soldier identified as “R” is being investigated for allegedly entering a teenage girl’s room, raping and stealing from her in Seoul. The 21 year-old army private was affiliated with the 1st Signal Brigade of the Eighth Army of U.S. Forces.

According to the police, “R” trespassed into a one-room apartment in Mapo-gu, Seoul, at around 5:45 a.m. on Sept. 17 and raped the girl, 18, and took her laptop.

The soldier denied the allegations during the police investigation Wednesday although he admitted to taking her laptop, police said. He claimed that the sexual intercourse was consensual.

Police, however, suspect that based on the victim’s testimony and evidence from the scene that “R” had returned to the girl’s house to commit the crime after taking her back home from a meeting where she drank with a few of his colleagues.

Police requested the National Forensic Service to conduct a DNA identification of what’s left in her room. Police plan to refer the case to the prosecution.

The soldier is currently in the custody of the U.S. Forces. After being indicted, however, he will be handed over to Korea under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the two countries.

On Thursday, the soldier, assigned to the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division in Dongducheon, was indicted on charges of raping an 18-year-old in her apartment near his unit at around 4 a.m. on Sept. 24.