U.S. airman in Japan is sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor
A U.S. airman stationed in Japan was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor.
TOKYO — A U.S. airman stationed in Japan was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor.
Senior Airman Brennon Washington, 25, was stationed at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa when he approached the girl, who was under 16, at a local park on Dec. 24, 2023, and took her to his off-base residence.
He was indicted in March for allegedly abducting and having sexual intercourse with her without her consent but the case was not publicly revealed until June, angering the local government.
Prosecutors had asked the Naha District Court for a sentence of seven years for Washington, who according to local media pleaded not guilty.
In explaining his ruling, Judge Tetsuro Sato said that Washington continued to engage in sexual acts with the girl even after he was aware that she was under 16 and had not given her consent, the Kyodo news agency reported, saying Washington “demonstrated his disregard for the girl’s decision-making process of her sexual freedom and it was heinous.”
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