ARIZONA
A federal judge sentenced Joseph S. Martin, 20, of Peoria, Arizona, to 96 months in prison, and Christopher J. Heikkila, 21, a U.S. citizen previously residing in Weilerbach, Germany, to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in Landstuhl, Germany in October 2013, officials, announced Monday.
In September 2015, a jury convicted the men of one count of sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact each.
Court evidence indicated the following:
On Oct. 19, 2013, Martin and Heikkila sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in Landstuhl while she was incapacitated after they had used social media to specifically target the victim and plan the assault.
At the time, Martin and Heikkila were employees of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service on Ramstein Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany, as well as dependents of civilian employees of the military, according to trial evidence.
The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act gives U.S. federal courts jurisdiction over felonies committed abroad by certain persons employed by or accompanying the U.S. military, officials said.