Hadnott pleads guilty to sex assault on teen

Hadnott pleads guilty to sex assault on teen
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, May 18, 2008

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott will spend the next few years behind bars for molesting a 14-year-old Okinawa girl in February.

In a courtroom packed with a pool of Japanese reporters and representatives of the Okinawa prefectural government, Hadnott was sentenced by a military judge Friday to 48 months of confinement — with 12 months suspended — and a dishonorable discharge. The case attracted international attention and was one of several incidents that led to strict liberty restrictions on everyone affiliated with the military on Okinawa.

Under the terms of a pretrial agreement, Hadnott pleaded guilty to one count, admitting he fondled a 14-year-old girl he picked up on his motorcycle outside an ice cream parlor in Okinawa City on Feb. 10.

Charges of rape, adultery, kidnapping through luring, and making a false official statement were withdrawn and the sentence was limited under the agreement to 36 months. The remaining 12 months of the sentence were suspended. He also will have to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.

Hadnott, 38, was demoted to E-1 and all his pay and allowances were suspended — except for $1,300 a month to be sent to support his 3-year-old daughter for six months. He faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54876