The Gunners Fitness Center at Camp Foster, Okinawa, is pictured on June 9, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese woman testified Tuesday in a Japanese court that a U.S. Marine climbed into a bathroom stall at a Marine Corps gym in March 2025, pinned her to the door and sexually assaulted her.
Pfc. Austin Wedington, 28, of California, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on May 20 to forcible sexual intercourse and injuring a second woman at Gunners Fitness Center on Camp Foster.
Tuesday marked the first day of testimony in Wedington’s ongoing trial.
Wedington consumed four 500 mL drinks with 9% alcohol and five 250 mg ibuprofen tablets before the incident, which induced confusional arousal and sleepwalking, according to court documents submitted by defense attorney Tetsu Amakata.
Confusional arousal, also known as sleep drunkenness, is characterized by disorientation, confusion and slow response to stimuli upon waking from sleep, according to the Yale Medicine website. Episodes may last several hours and involve inappropriate behavior, memory impairment or difficulty in fully awakening.
The first woman, referred to in court as “A,” testified from a separate room via video feed shown only to prosecutors, Amakata and the three-judge panel.
She is a Japanese employee on a U.S. base, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported in April 2025, though this was not confirmed in court. She was 20 at the time of the incident.
A prosecutor identified only as Shimizu questioned “A” first for about 90 minutes.
She testified that she entered the middle of three stalls in the women’s restroom around 10 p.m. March 18, 2025.
She was on the toilet when she heard knocking on the stall door and responded “what” in English. Then Wedington climbed over the stall to her left, she said.
She said she cried “help” in English before Wedington put one hand over her mouth and the other on the back of her head.
“A” said she later heard a female gym employee outside the stall say, “open the door.” The employee tried to crawl under the stall door, but Wedington stomped on her face, then placed her in a chokehold, according to the testimony.
After struggling with the employee for several minutes, Wedington released her and she left, saying she would call the police, “A” testified.
Left alone with “A,” Wedington pinned her to the door and penetrated her with his finger, then touched her waist with his penis, she told the court.
“A” then heard someone outside of the stall, opened the door and ran.
She testified that she tries to avoid thinking about the situation. “I hope he will be judged appropriately,” she said.
Amakata then questioned “A” for about an hour.
She told Amakata she did not remember telling police and prosecutors in April 2025 that she tried to escape when the gym employee left the stall, but that Wedington held the door closed.
“I was afraid something would happen if I resisted,” she said.
Questioned by Presiding Judge Tomohiko Shinomiya about her memory lapse, “A” responded that “a year has passed and it is not as clear.”
The gym employee is scheduled to testify on July 1.
