Friend of accused testifies
in rape trial on Okinawa
By David Allen, Okinawa
bureau chief
NAHA — A witness testified Thursday in the rape trial of a U.S. Air Force member
that he heard the alleged victim say "no" during the incident. But he said he
thought she was saying no to another man standing near the scene.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Marvin Carter said he did not think his friend, Staff Sgt. Timothy
Woodland, was raping a 24-year-old Okinawan woman when he came upon them in an American
Village shopping plaza parking lot June 29.
Carter said he was looking for Woodland to give him a ride back to Kadena Air Base
after spending the evening at a local club. Carter said he saw his friend having sex with
the woman on the hood of a car about 2:30 a.m.
A third man was standing near the couple, he said, and the woman was yelling, "No!
Stop!"
The prosecution called Carter to testify, because his statement corroborated that of
Marine Lance Cpl. Jermaine Oliphant. Last week when Oliphant testified, he said he saw
Woodland forcing himself on the woman as she struggled against him.
"What was your understanding of what was happening?" defense attorney
Tsuyoshi Arakaki asked Carter.
"I thought [Woodland] was having an argument with her date," Carter said,
referring to the third man standing at the scene. "I thought she was telling Woodland
and the other guy not to fight."
His answer clearly surprised prosecuting attorney Sadao Matsubara, who asked for
clarification.
"Didn’t you tell the police you heard her yell for Woodland to stop the
rape?"
"I told them I heard her say ‘No, stop!’ But they never asked me about
the context," Carter said. "So, it could have sounded like that."
Matsubara expressed surprise.
"The defendant was having sex at the same time he was having an argument?" he
asked Carter.
"He had his pants down to his knees as he pressed up against the woman and argued
with the other man for about two minutes," Carter said. "My opinion was she had
been caught by her boyfriend. I didn’t think she was talking about the sex. I thought
she was talking about the arguing."
Woodland, 24, pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sodomy. He said the sex was
consensual.
During last week’s hearing, Oliphant said the alleged victim was a friend of his
girlfriend, and he had gone looking for her to give her a ride home. Oliphant said
Woodland raped the woman as she struggled to get away.
Oliphant denied he was the woman’s boyfriend, and shook off a defense claim that
he might have been angry at Woodland because the woman was supposed to be another
Marine’s date.
Woodland, wearing plastic prison-issue shower shoes and the gray suit he has worn since
the beginning of the trial Sept. 11, sat on a bench between two guards during the hearing.
He listened intently as his friend testified a few feet away.
Both men are assigned to the 353rd Operational Support Squadron at Kadena Air Base.
Woodland has been in custody at the Naha Detention Center since his arrest July 6.
The case caused an international stir that focused on the heavy presence of U.S. troops
on Okinawa. The tension heightened after Woodland’s transfer to Japanese custody was
delayed for four days after an arrest warrant was issued, sparking calls for a change in
the Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries.
Under the current SOFA, U.S. servicemembers charged with crimes do not have to be
turned over until a Japanese court indicts them.
However, the United States agreed to an early transfer of suspects in cases involving
murder and rape following the 1995 abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawa girl by
three U.S. servicemen.
The next hearing in the case is set for Nov. 19.
Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this report.
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