TOKYO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese high court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a U.S. Marine to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in Okinawa Prefecture in 2024, local media reported.
At the Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch on the same day, Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 23, had pleaded not guilty, as he had done at the hearing at the Naha District Court, Kyodo News reported.
Clayton choked a woman in her 20s from behind while attempting to rape her on the morning of May 26, 2024, causing injuries to her eyes that took two weeks to heal, according to the ruling.
During sentencing, Presiding Judge Hiroaki Kikuchi said the victim's testimony was credible and rejected the argument by Clayton's defense team that she could have called for help if she had been scared.
In June 2025, the district court sentenced Clayton to seven years in prison, concluding that the victim's testimony demonstrated a "high level of credibility," while prosecutors had sought 10 years in prison.
Okinawa Prefecture hosts around 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan. For a long time, problems such as illegal and criminal activities, traffic accidents, and noise pollution involving U.S. military personnel have been a major nuisance to residents. ■