After admitting to, and pleading guilty, in the rape and robbery of a Okinawa woman last year, two U.S. sailors were sentenced in an Okinawa court on Friday.
Two sailors, Christopher Browning, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Dozierwalker, were on temporary duty on the island from Naval Air Station Fort Worth, Texas, when they raped and robbed the young woman in October of last year. They were with the VR-59 Reserve Air Detachment.
The Naha District Court sentenced 24-year-old Browning ten years in prison, while 23-year-old Dozierwalker was sentenced to nine years for the crimes.
The incident sparked outrage on the island and resulted in a curfew and drinking restrictions being placed on the military personnel based on the island.
Most cases that involve military personnel on Okinawa are generally taken up by military courts. But, in instances of murder and rape occurring outside of the base, local, Okinawan court take over.
The two men will serve their time in an Okinawan prison.
Okinawa is home to about 1.4 million people and about 35,600 United States military personnel are stationed there.