A Japanese court said Wednesday it had found a U.S. Marine guilty of sexually assaulting a woman on Okinawa, sentencing him to prison terms, in a case that has triggered anger and safety concerns on Japan’s southern island, which has a heavy American troop presence.

The Naha District Court said Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 22, of Ohio, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison in the case.

Clayton was found guilty of attacking the woman in her 20s in the village of Yomitan on the main Okinawa island in May 2024, chocking her from behind, sexually assaulting her and causing her injuries.