thedrifter
03-29-04, 06:36 AM
Prosecutors seek jail for Marines accused of assaulting two women
By Hana Kusumoto, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 28, 2004
Japanese prosecutors sought prison sentences Friday for two Iwakuni-based Marines accused of assaulting two women.
In Yamaguchi District Court, prosecutors asked for a 14-month sentence for Cpl. Joseph P. Benoit, 22, and one-year sentence for Lance Cpl. Nathan J. Schuermann, 22, according to defense attorney Tomoyuki Morishige.
Benoit and Schuermann, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 at Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, pleaded guilty last month to attacking the women on April 12 around 5:30 a.m. in Iwakuni city.
According to the indictment, Benoit punched a 22-year-old woman in the head, knocking her to the ground; he then climbed on top of her and grabbed her neck. Schuermann is accused of knocking another 22-year-old woman to the ground, grabbing her hair and smashing her head into the ground twice.
During the closing arguments, defense attorneys said the Marines regret the incident and had made payments to the women to express regret.
During the first hearing, the defense attorneys presented petitions written by the two women asking the court for mercy.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=21255
Ellie
By Hana Kusumoto, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 28, 2004
Japanese prosecutors sought prison sentences Friday for two Iwakuni-based Marines accused of assaulting two women.
In Yamaguchi District Court, prosecutors asked for a 14-month sentence for Cpl. Joseph P. Benoit, 22, and one-year sentence for Lance Cpl. Nathan J. Schuermann, 22, according to defense attorney Tomoyuki Morishige.
Benoit and Schuermann, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 at Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, pleaded guilty last month to attacking the women on April 12 around 5:30 a.m. in Iwakuni city.
According to the indictment, Benoit punched a 22-year-old woman in the head, knocking her to the ground; he then climbed on top of her and grabbed her neck. Schuermann is accused of knocking another 22-year-old woman to the ground, grabbing her hair and smashing her head into the ground twice.
During the closing arguments, defense attorneys said the Marines regret the incident and had made payments to the women to express regret.
During the first hearing, the defense attorneys presented petitions written by the two women asking the court for mercy.
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=21255
Ellie