Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton trains at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, in March 2024. (Matthew Morales/U.S. Marine Corps)
NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese court on Thursday ordered a U.S. Marine convicted of choking and attempting to sexually assault a woman to pay the victim about $41,200 in compensation plus interest.
A three-judge panel presided over by Judge Akira Katase at Naha District Court ordered Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 23, of Ohio, to pay the victim 3% interest annually from May 25, 2024 — the date of the offense — until full payment is made.
The woman’s attorney, Naoko Murakami, filed a civil lawsuit on Feb. 17 seeking that amount, citing “the fear, injury and degrading sexual abuse” the woman suffered.
Clayton has two weeks to appeal the ruling. He was not represented by an attorney, according to court records.
Neither Clayton nor Murakami attended the hearing. Murakami could not be reached by phone for comment Thursday.
A three-judge panel accompanied by six lay judges in Naha District Court convicted Clayton on June 24 of nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury and sentenced him to seven years in Japanese prison. A separate three-judge panel upheld the verdict March 5 in the Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court.
Clayton, through his previous attorney, Kotaro Ito, declined to appeal his conviction and sentence to Japan’s Supreme Court.
Evidence and the woman’s testimony presented at the criminal trial showed Clayton followed the woman into a taxi from Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city to her home in Yomitan village, where the assault occurred. The district court ruling cited the woman’s testimony.
Clayton’s case and that of Senior Airman Brennon Washington, convicted in December 2024 of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, fueled public backlash and protests from Okinawa’s government.
In response to a string of similar cases, U.S. Forces Japan imposed stricter liberty restrictions in October 2024, including a ban on off-base drinking between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The Naha court on Wednesday ordered Washington to pay about $20,600 in compensation to the teenager, increasing an earlier award after he challenged the ruling.
