MOSCOW: (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the sentence against a United States (US) Air Force serviceman in a kidnapping and sexual assault case involving a girl under the age of 16 in Okinawa Prefecture, according to Japanese media on Tuesday (Feb 3), reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
The Small Bench of the Supreme Court of Japan rejected the serviceman's appeal, the Japan Times newspaper reported.
Thus, the five-year prison sentence handed down by the first- and second-instance courts came into effect, the report said.
In December 2023, US soldier Brennon Washington approached a girl in a park in Okinawa and asked about her age, with the moment being captured by a CCTV camera in the area.
He suggested that they talk in his car because it was cold outside, then drove her home and sexually assaulted her, knowing that she was under 16 at the time. They had not been acquainted before this incident.
The defence insisted that the defendant did not know the victim's age and that the intercourse was consensual, the newspaper added.
In 2024, the Naha District Court found the victim's testimony credible and sentenced the man to five years in prison.
In 2025, the Fukuoka High Court upheld the ruling. - Bernama-Sputnik/Ria Novosti
