A U.S. Air Force serviceman in Okinawa Prefecture has appealed to the Supreme Court against a high court ruling upholding a five-year sentence a lower court slapped on him for abducting and sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 in the prefecture, it was learned Friday.

Brennon Washington, a 26-year-old airman at Kadena Air Base, filed the appeal Wednesday after receiving the ruling by the Fukuoka High Court¡¯s branch in Naha earlier the same day, people familiar with the matter said.

Upholding the Naha District Court¡¯s decision, the high court branch affirmed that in December 2023, Washington took the girl from a park to his home by car and carried out indecent acts on her, such as touching her lower body, while knowing she was younger than 16 years old.