American marine prison for seven years for sexual assault in Japan

A Japan court sentenced an American marine to seven years in prison after found him guilty to a sexual attack on a woman in Okinawa last year.

The 22 -year -old Lance Clyley Clayton attacked the wife of her 20s, suffocating her from behind and trying to sexually, the court ruled.

The case is one of the strings related to US troops based in the Okinawa archipelago, where more than half of the 54,000 US soldiers serving in Japan are based.

Previous crimes committed by US staff caused anger and protests by locals in Okinawa, the largest of which took place 30 years ago when tens of thousands took to the streets after raping a 12-year-old girl.

In the last year alone, there have been four cases of sexual assault related to US members, including Air Force member Brennan Washington, who has been given five years for rape and abduction of a minor girl in December 2024.

The prosecutors in the case on Tuesday had asked for 10 years for Clayton, According to stars and stripes that cover US military news.

Clayton denied all the accusations against him. His defense had pointed out the “young woman intoxication” and the discrepancies in her history during the trial earlier in June.

But the Naha District Court judges gave Clayton of Ohio, seven years in prison after finding The victim’s testimonies had a “high level of trust all the time”Kyodo news agencies have been reported.

During the sentence, Judge Kazuhiko Obata described the attack as “vicious”, with the woman suffocated for one to two minutes, stars and stripes said.

According to Kyodo, the woman suffered eye injuries that took two weeks to cure.

The local opposition to US bases exceeds only criminal cases, extending to the noise and pollution of aircraft.

There were previous efforts to move US bases to less populated parts of Okinawa, but many locals wanted to remove them completely.

However, experts say Japan’s military union with the US is too strong to happen. And they say that Tokyo needs Washington given the challenges he faced, whether the growing claims of China for contested waters and islands or rocket tests in North Korea.