A former Department of Defense employee has been sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for the assault of a U.S. military member that occurred near Osan Air Base in South Korea. Gerald Leon Ray III, 27, of Lathrop, California, was convicted of intentionally striking the victim in the face back in July 2020, an attack which led to serious bodily injuries, including a broken jaw and brain hemorrhage. According to court documents cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the timely medical aid the victim received was critical, as without it, the victim might have died.

Ray, who was working for the Defense Commissary Agency at the time of the incident, entered a guilty plea on March 21 in the Eastern District of California to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The case was prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which allows the U.S. to exercise jurisdiction over certain crimes committed by civilian employees of the Armed Forces, amongst others, abroad. The act's reach has proven to be critical in ensuring that justice does not fail to be delivered, even across international seas.

The investigation into Ray's actions was a collective effort between multiple agencies including the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the FBI, with the support of the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Marshals Service. They collaborated to not just uncover facts behind the violent incident, but also to secure Ray's arrest, detention, and transportation for his day in court.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office, including U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heiko P. Coppola, have not only prosecuted the case but have come to represent the assertive stance the U.S. takes against crimes involving military personnel, regardless of the perpetrator’s affiliation with defense agencies. The sentencing of Ray marks yet another instance where the MEJA has been used to effectively bridge the jurisdictional gaps that too often separate perpetrators from the consequence of law.