Marine cites sleep disorder in Okinawa assault case

May 21, 2026

Summary

A U.S. Marine charged in Okinawa plans an insanity defense tied to parasomnia at his sexual assault trial.

Why this matters

The case will test how a Japanese court weighs a sleep-disorder insanity defense in a high-profile criminal case involving a U.S. service member on Okinawa. It also comes amid continued scrutiny of U.S. military conduct and restrictions imposed after other assault cases.

A U.S. Marine charged with sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another will argue at trial that he was legally insane because of a sleep disorder, his attorney said Wednesday.

Pfc. Austin Wedington, 28, of California, should not be held responsible for the alleged March 18, 2025, incident, according to a Feb. 12 filing by defense attorney Tetsu Amakata in Naha District Court. Presiding Judge Tomohiko Shinomiya read part of the filing in court Wednesday.

Amakata wrote that Wedington was showing symptoms of parasomnia and “was in a state of insanity during every act he is accused of in the indictment.” Parasomnia is a group of disruptive sleep disorders that includes sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep talking, and sleep paralysis, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Article 39 of Japan’s penal code states that “actions due to insanity are not subject to punishment.”

Wedington pleaded not guilty on Nov. 18 to forcible sexual intercourse and guilty to injuring the second woman before a three-judge panel led by Judge Kazuhiko Obata.

Prosecutor Kazutaka Maeda said in court that Wedington entered the women’s restroom at Gunners Fitness Center on Camp Foster, climbed into a stall occupied by the first woman, who was 20 at the time, and grabbed her mouth.

A second woman, a 50-year-old Gunners employee, tried to intervene, Maeda said. Wedington stomped her in the face and put her in a rear chokehold, causing bruising, a neck sprain, and a shoulder abrasion, Maeda said.

After she escaped, Wedington sexually assaulted the first woman, Maeda said. The second woman returned about seven minutes later with another Marine, who broke down the door and restrained Wedington as the woman ran away, Maeda said.

Prosecutors submitted more evidence Wednesday, including 10 minutes of video that was not shown publicly.

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