TOKYO (AP) -- A U.S. Marine accused of raping a 14-year-old Japanese girl was convicted of a lesser charge Friday during a court martial and sentenced to four years in prison in a case that inflamed public anger at the American military presence on Okinawa.

Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott, 38, was found guilty of abusive sexual conduct, said Master Sgt. Chuck Albrecht, adding that four other charges -- rape of a child under 16, making false official statements, adultery and "kidnapping through inveigling," or trickery -- were dropped.

Japanese police initially apprehended Hadnott but released him after the girl dropped charges. U.S. authorities then investigated the case under the strict military justice code.

Japan hosts some 50,000 American troops under a security treaty. About half of them are based on the tiny, congested island of Okinawa.

Hadnott's Feb. 11 arrest -- as well as a series of other damaging criminal accusations against American troops -- worsened resentment at the U.S. military presence on the southern island.

The incident prompted the U.S. military to severely restrict troop movements on Okinawa and elsewhere, and conduct an ongoing review of its anti-sexual assault education programs and guidelines.

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