Marine accused of violent sexual assault in women’s restroom was likely sleepwalking, psychiatrist argues

A Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan, is on trial in a Japanese court on charges of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another in a women’s restroom at a gym. Prosecutors allege that Pfc. Austin Wedington, 29, of California entered the women’s restroom at Gunner’s Fitness Center at Camp Foster on March 18, 2025.

Per Stars and Stripes, prosecutor Kazutaka Maeda told the court that Wedington entered the women’s restroom, climbed into a stall occupied by a 20-year-old Japanese woman, and grabbed her mouth. He claimed that a second woman – a 50-year-old employee of the gym – attempted to intervene. Wedington is accused of stamping on her face and placing her in a chokehold. After she escaped, Wedington is said to have sexually assaulted the first woman.

Wedington’s account of events was that he remembers falling asleep on the gym lobby sofa and then the next thing he can recall is being outside looking at the gym before he was taken into custody. Wedington has, per Stripes, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

“Dreaming but sat up and was aware”

To justify that plea, his defense counsel Tetsu Amakata has lodged a brief arguing that Wedington had consumed alcohol and ibuprofen before the incident, a combination which induced “confusional arousal” and “sleepwalking.” Wedington himself testified that he has a history of insomnia and “extreme nightmares,” including moments when he was “still dreaming but sat up and was aware” of what was going on around him.

Psychiatrist and sleep disorder specialist, Dr. Yoshikazu Takaesu, took the stand to try to explain this position, arguing that Wedington was “in a situation that could trigger non-REM parasomnia.” He claimed, “Based on an overall assessment of these circumstances, I infer that the behavior resulted from the combined, interacting effects of both parasomnia and alcohol.”

Dr. Takaesu was then cross-examined by a skeptical prosecutor, who reportedly pointed out that climbing over a wall into a bathroom stall would be quite difficult for someone who’s asleep. Dr. Takaesu then admitted that “a complex act like climbing onto a wall” was “atypical” for a sleepwalker. He went on to add that, per the witness evidence, “There are scenes in which Wedington seems to be impaired, but the next moment he seems to be conscious … Logically, it seems odd to me.”

This isn’t the first time someone accused of sexual assault has defended themselves by claiming they were sleepwalking. In 2009, 20-year-old Zack Thompson attempted to argue that he was sleepwalking when he raped a 17-year-old girl at a Portuguese holiday resort. This was disputed by experts, he changed his plea to guilty, and was sentenced to six years in prison.