SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Tuesday that they have indicted a U.S. soldier on charges of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old South Korean girl and stealing her laptop.

The 21-year-old private from a communications brigade of the 8th U.S. Army is accused of raping the girl in her rented room in Mapo, central Seoul, in the early morning of Sept. 17.

The soldier, who has been only identified by the initial of his surname, R, allegedly broke into the girl's room while she was sleeping and sexually assaulted her before leaving with her laptop computer, valued at 1 million won (US$870).

The soldier had allegedly taken the girl home after they drank together overnight with two others, including another soldier. He later returned to the girl's room and raped her, according to the charges.

He was arrested by prosecutors on Dec. 6 upon the issuance of an arrest warrant by a local court.

The soldier has reportedly denied the charges, but prosecutors said they have secured DNA evidence of the rape.

About 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed here as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Another 21-year-old U.S. soldier from the 2nd Infantry Division was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in November for raping an 18-year-old girl in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul.