TOKYO, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Japanese prosecutors have asked for a seven-year prison term for a U.S. serviceman charged with kidnapping and raping an underage girl in Okinawa Prefecture, local media reported.

In their closing arguments at Naha District Court on Friday, public prosecutors said security camera footage and other evidence indicated that the defendant, Brennon Washington, 25, who belongs to the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base in the island prefecture, knew the girl was under the age of 16, Jiji Press reported.

According to the indictment dated March 27, the U.S. Air Force member allegedly invited the girl to speak to him in his car at a park in the village of Yomitan on Dec. 24, 2023, and drove her to his residence before committing indecent acts such as kissing and touching the lower half of the girl's body with the knowledge that she was under 16.

Okinawa hosts 70 percent of all the U.S. military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 percent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by U.S. service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals. Enditem

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