US Marine sentenced to 7 years over sexual assault in Japan
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A US Marine has been sentenced to seven years in prison after he was convicted of strangling and sexually assaulting a woman in Okinawa, a Japanese district court told CNN.
Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 22, was accused of choking a woman in her 20s while attempting to rape her in May 2024, according to Kyodo News. He pleaded not guilty and denied having sexual intent or using physical force against her.
Clayton's case is the latest in a string of criminal allegations against US personnel in Okinawa. The Okinawa islands, which hosts 32 US military facilities, including some of the largest US military bases overseas, have for years been the center of local protests against American presence.
Tuesday's ruling was handed down after prosecutors described the crime to be so dangerous and malicious that it could have endangered the victim's life, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Naha District Court Judge Kazuhiko Obata, who presided over the case, described the woman's testimony as 'highly credible' and containing 'a level of specificity and authenticity that would not be possible without her actual experience,' NHK reported.
'The woman was attacked … she believed she would die. Her mental anguish was so great that she is still suffering from the effects of the attack,' the judge added.
The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, reported the incident to the police and a friend shortly after it happened, according to Kyodo News.
Prosecutors in the case called for Clayton to be jailed for 10 years, but the defense argued for acquittal –– saying the woman's testimony had many questions and was unreliable, according to NHK.
In an email to CNN, 3rd Marine Division spokesman Capt. Kazuma Engelkemier confirmed Clayton's conviction.
'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,' Engelkemier said.
He added the Marine Corps cooperated with Japanese authorities on the investigation and 'monitored the trial proceedings' without interference.
Clayton's case is among several recent incidents to draw scrutiny from local Okinawans include the case of a 25-year-old US serviceman, who in December was sentenced to five years in prison for kidnapping and raping an underage girl.
The incident took place nearly 30 years after three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawa school girl in 1995 –– which triggered backlash against the US military's presence.
The 2016 rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman by a former US base worker in Okinawa triggered mass protests in the islands' capital, with tens of thousands of residents demanding the US move its bases outside of Okinawa. The fallout resulted in curfews for US personnel on the island.
The Japanese government and the US Forces Japan in late April announced the creation of a new forum to 'enhance US-Japan cooperation' in Okinawa. A statement from the May meeting noted that a 2016 'Okinawa Orientation Overview' for incoming US personnel would be updated, and that more joint patrols, in areas outside of Okinawa, would be put in place.
A Pentagon report published in late April this year showed the number of sexual assault cases across the US military dipped by nearly 4% last year.
According to the report, there were 8,195 reported cases of sexual assault involving US servicemen in 2024, compared to 8,515 the year before. Senior defense officials, however, told the Associated Press that while the decline is a positive sign, the number of sexual assault reports is still too high.
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TOKYO — 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 high on Okinawa because of its continued burden with the heavy U.S. presence that includes noise, pollution, aircraft accidents and crime related to American troops. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, who attended Monday's 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, raised concerns about recent sexual assault cases involving U.S. service members when he met with Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, the commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, requesting discipline and preventive measures. There has been growing calls for a revision to the Status of Forces Agreement that gives the United States the right to investigate most accidents and crimes that occur on Japanese soil. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's Cabinet on Tuesday adopted a statement showing that the Japanese prosecutors dropped criminal cases against more than 300 U.S. service members in the last decade between 2014 and 2024, including a sexual assault case in Okinawa in 2020. Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press. Reeno Hashimoto in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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