U.S. Marine Sentenced to 7 Yrs for Sexual Assault in Okinawa

Jiji Press

10:44 JST, June 25, 2025

Naha (Jiji Press)—Naha District Court on Tuesday sentenced a 22-year-old U.S. Marine to seven years in prison for nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury to a woman in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, in May last year.

Presiding Judge Kazuhiko Obata described the behavior of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton as “so dangerous that it could have threatened her life and was highly malicious.”

The sentence compares with prosecutors’ request for a 10-year prison term for him. During his trial, Clayton asserted his innocence, claiming that he did not try to have intercourse with the woman or use violence against her. The defense side plans to appeal the ruling.

The judge noted that the woman’s testimony about the incident was completely reasonable and had “concreteness and reality that can be provided by nothing but experience.”

Considering that the woman reported the incident to police immediately and sent a message to a friend a few hours later about what had happened, which matched her testimony, the presiding judge concluded that the woman’s evidence was trustworthy.

Since Clayton unbuttoned the woman’s pants, the judge recognized that he had an intention to have intercourse with her. Without caring that the woman resisted, Clayton choked her for at least one or two minutes. “The emotional pain she felt, including fear, was tremendous,” the presiding judge said.

After delivering the sentence, Obata told Clayton to deeply repent his act in prison and spend a quiet life after the release.

According to the ruling, Clayton assaulted the woman for sexual purposes, putting his arms around her neck from behind and choking her. She suffered injuries that took about two weeks to heal.

In a similar sexual assault case in Okinawa, a 26-year-old U.S. airman was sentenced to five years in prison last December. The defense has appealed the ruling.