Overview
- The defendant, Private First Class Austin Wedington, 28, pleaded not guilty at his initial hearing at Naha District Court, saying he has no memory of the alleged events.
- Defense counsel acknowledged some violence occurred but rejected the allegation of non-consensual intercourse, creating a clear dispute over the sexual-assault charge.
- Prosecutors said Wedington entered a base fitness center with an acquaintance and climbed into a women’s restroom stall before strangling a woman and pressing her against a door.
- A second woman who tried to help was injured, with the indictment describing facial bruising and a cervical sprain requiring about three days of recovery.
- Presiding Judge Kazuhiko Obata left scheduling open, and the court, prosecution, and defense will decide how the proceedings move forward; the case comes after several recent Okinawa prosecutions of U.S. service members.