TOKYO (KLTV/AP) - Two U.S. sailors accused of attacking a woman on Okinawa have been charged with rape.
Local prosecutors on Tuesday formally charged the two - Seaman Christopher Browning of Athens, Texas, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker of Muskogee, Okla. - in the Oct. 16 incident that has brought an angry outcry on the southern Japan island.
According to Japanese reports, Seaman Browning and Petty Officer Dozierwalker had been drinking at a Okinawa bar before the incident took place.
ABC News reports Dozierwalker admitted to sexually assaulting, robbing and slashing the neck of an Okinawa woman, something Browning denies.
Okinawa hosts more than half of the 52,000 U.S. troops in Japan.
The alleged rape has heightened longstanding tensions over base-related crime, accidents and noise. Military officials have since put all U.S. troops in Japan under a strict curfew, but police on Okinawa are now investigating an airman for allegedly violating the new restrictions and punching a 13-year-old boy after a late-night drinking binge.
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Christopher Daniel Browning senior year at Athens High School. (Source: Athens High School)
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