A Japanese high court on Wednesday upheld a five-year prison sentence for Brennon Washington, a 26-year-old U.S. airman, over kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl under the age of consent in Okinawa Prefecture.
Takashi Miura, presiding judge at the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court, rejected the defense's appeal and upheld the Naha District Court's ruling in the trial of Washington, stationed at the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base in the prefecture.
Miura dismissed the defense's argument that the girl's testimony was not credible, saying that based on security camera images, it was reliable.
The judge found that the airman had intent to commit an indecent act, as he took the girl to his home in a car and immediately began sexual acts.
According to the verdict, the airman in December 2023 invited the girl into his car at a park in Okinawa, took her to his home for indecent purposes and touched her lower body, while knowing that she was under 16 years old.
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