US marine jailed for seven years for sexual assault in Japan
A court docket in Japan has sentenced a US marine to seven years in jail after discovering him responsible of sexually assaulting a lady in Okinawa final yr.
Lance Cpl Jamel Clayton, 22, attacked the girl in her 20s, choking her from behind and trying sexual activity, the court docket dominated.
The case is considered one of a string involving US servicemen based mostly within the Okinawa archipelago, the place greater than half of the 54,000 US troopers serving in Japan are based mostly.
Earlier crimes dedicated by American personnel have sparked anger and protests by locals in Okinawa, the most important of which passed off 30 years in the past, when tens of 1000’s took to the road following the rape of a 12-year-old lady.
Within the final yr alone, there have been 4 sexual assault circumstances involving US service members in Okinawa, together with air power member Brennon Washington, who was given 5 years for the rape and kidnapping of an underage lady by a court docket in December 2024.
Prosecutors in Tuesday’s case had requested for 10 years for Clayton, in line with Stars and Stripes, which covers US navy information.
Clayton had denied all the costs towards him. His defence had pointed to the younger lady’s “intoxication” and inconsistencies in her story in the course of the trial earlier in June.
However judges at Naha District Court docket gave Clayton, of Ohio, seven years in jail after discovering the sufferer’s testimonies had “a high-level of credibility all through”, Kyodo information company reported.
Throughout sentencing, Choose Kazuhiko Obata described the assault as “vicious”, with the girl being choked for one to 2 minutes, Stars and Stripes mentioned.
In keeping with Kyodo, the girl sustained accidents to her eyes which took two weeks to heal.
Native opposition to the US bases goes past simply the felony circumstances, extending to plane noise and air pollution.
There have been earlier efforts to maneuver the US bases to much less populated components of Okinawa, however many locals need them eliminated altogether.
Consultants, nonetheless, say Japan’s navy alliance with the US is simply too sturdy for that to occur. They usually say Tokyo wants Washington given the challenges it faces, be it China’s rising claims over disputed waters and islands, or North Korea’s missile exams.