Arrested Four Times for Sexual Assault…Cosmetic Surgeon Speaks of “Evil Tricks” at First Trial

On October 4, the Tokyo District Court (Kensuke Kobayashi presiding) held the first trial of Shoichi Takezawa, 43, a cosmetic surgeon and former director of a Tokyo-based beauty clinic, who is alleged to have repeatedly sexually assaulted women who had become drowsy after using a sleeping drug.

Since his arrest in July of this year, Takezawa had been re-arrested. In each case, the defendant was charged with forcible sexual intercourse, indecent assault, and indecent assault, forcing staff members of his clinic to take sleeping pills and having sexual intercourse with them. The most recent arrest, his fourth, was announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on October 13. The alleged victims were not the staff of his clinic, as in the past, but patients. Twice last December, he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a patient who was sleeping under general anesthesia after surgery. He confessed to the charges and said that he had become mentally deranged after breaking up with his girlfriend.

At his first trial on October 4, while the re-arrests continued, a hearing was held on the “incident against staff member A,” which led to his first arrest. Takezawa, who has been in custody since his first arrest, appeared in court with a strange haircut that looked as if it had originally been two-blocked, or perhaps a shaved head that had grown long, with long hair remaining only in the center.

The “incident against Mr. A,” in which he admitted everything, saying “There is no mistake,” after answering a predetermined question in a low, weak voice, occurred in April of this year, according to the indictment and the evidence. According to the indictment and evidence, the “incident against Ms. A” occurred in April of this year. Ms. A had applied for a job that was advertised the month before, was hired by the clinic, and began working on April 1. A few days later, Mr. Takezawa invited Ms. A to dinner.

While they were eating and drinking at a Spanish restaurant in Ginza, the defendant laced her food and drink with sleeping pills while Ms. A stood up to use the restroom. The defendant, unaware of this, continued to eat and drink, and when Ms. A became dazed, he took her home and engaged in sexual intercourse with her, which was videotaped. The next day, he had to work at the clinic again, so he sent Ms. A home by cab at midnight, but the crime did not end there.

The next morning, Takezawa took a cab to Ms. A’s home and picked her up to go to work. The next morning, the defendant stopped by Ms. A’s home in a taxi, picked her up, and drove her to work. However, what the defendant gave her as “a medicine to cheer her up” was propofol. This is a powerful anesthetic that was used by Michael Jackson, who suffered from insomnia before his death. When Ms. A became unconscious again, the defendant had sexual intercourse with her again, and filmed the crime again.

Ms. A felt something wrong with her body, and after consulting with acquaintances that same day, she went to the hospital and reported to the doctor that she had skin discoloration that she did not remember (according to the documentary evidence). He also consulted with the police, which led to an investigation and the arrest of Takezawa for the first time.

While the police continued to re-arrest the defendant, the investigation also continued, and the first trial was continued on the grounds that there were “additional prosecutions in other cases. The additional charges are expected to continue for some time.