Japanese court convicts a US Marine in sexual assault, sentencing him to 7 years in prison

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court has found a U.S.Marine guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on Okinawa and sentenced him to seven years in prison, in a case that has triggered anger and safety concerns on Japan’s southern island, which has a heavy American troop presence.The Naha District Court said Lance Cpl.

Jamel Clayton, 22, of Ohio, was sentenced in the case on Tuesday.Clayton was found guilty of attacking the woman in her 20s in the Yomitan village on the main Okinawa island in May, 2024, chocking her from behind, sexually assaulting her and causing her injuries.In sentencing, Judge Kazuhiko Obata said the victim’s testimony, provided remotely and anonymously, was highly credible even though the defendant denied his charges brought by the prosecutors, who demanded 10 years in prison, according to Kyodo News.“This behavior does not reflect the values of the Marine Corps nor does it exemplify the standards the overwhelming majority of our Marines uphold daily,” Capt.Kazuma Engelkemier, spokesperson for 3rd Marine Division, said in a statement confirming Clayton’s conviction emailed on Wednesday.Engelkemier said the U.S.

side monitored the trial proceedings without interfering in the Japanese judicial process.“We cooperated fully with the investigation process,” he said.The Marine has been in Japanese custody since his indictment that followed the allegation, he added.The case was one of a string of sexual assault cases last year in which the arrests of the suspects were initially withheld by local authorities on grounds of protecting the victims’ privacy, triggering anger and criticisms of coverups.Okinawa, where one of the fiercest battles of World War II was fought 80 years ago and under U.S.

occupation until 1972, remains home to the majority of about 50,000 U.S.troops stationed in Japan under a bilateral security pact.

The island, which accounts for only 0.6% of Japanese land, hosts 70% of U.S.military facilities.Frustration runs hi...