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.”
Sexual intercourse with people under 16 is generally illegal in Japan regardless of consent.
U.S. service members in Japan, which hosts more than 50,000 American troops, have been involved in a series of sexual assault and other criminal cases dating back decades. The issue has long been a source of tension with the local community in Okinawa, fueling an ongoing movement to reduce the U.S. military presence there.
The 18th Wing, the host unit at Kadena Air Base, said it worked closely with local authorities throughout the case.
“Sexual assault is reprehensible, and we share the local community’s outrage over this case,” it said in a statement Friday. “All U.S. service members are expected to always uphold the highest standards of conduct.”
Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans, commander of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, said he was “deeply troubled” by Washington’s actions and “the damage he inflicted on the victim and her family.”
“Sexual assault is a grave offense that does not, in any way, reflect the values of the thousands of U.S. service members who serve honorably in Okinawa in support of the Japan-U.S. Alliance,” he said in a statement.
