Former Principal Arrested for Sexual Assault Gives Unbelievable Defense in Court

Filming the assault with a video camera.

“(At the time of the incident) what I saw in adult videos was all the sexual knowledge I had. And I saw posts on internet sites that said this is how women can feel good, so I thought women would feel good with things like electric massagers.”

The former principal of a public junior high school in Nerima, Tokyo, Hisayoshi Kitamura (57), is charged with attempted rape causing injury after sexually assaulting a female student, A, on the school grounds.

During the third trial session on November 28, in response to the defense attorney’s question, “Did you not think A was uncomfortable when the electric massager was pressed against her?” Hisayoshi Kitamura, the defendant, responded as mentioned earlier.

In addition to the charge of attempted rape causing injury against A, Hisayoshi Kitamura is also accused of violating the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prevention Law for filming and storing lewd acts with another female student, B.

“Kitamura was arrested on September 10, 2023, on suspicion of violating the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prevention Law regarding B. When the police searched his principal’s office, they found a video camera in the desk drawer containing 29 videos and 19 still images of child pornography. The footage included not only B but also videos of sexual assault against A. As a result, Kitamura was re-arrested on September 29 on suspicion of attempted rape causing injury.” (Reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department)

B entered the middle school where Kitamura worked in the year A graduated. It was the same time A left, and B became involved with Kitamura, just like A, through roles such as the club advisor, science teacher, and grade-level coordinator.

It’s a terrible thing that can never be undone.”

During the third trial, the prosecutor read aloud Student B’s statement.

“Immediately after entering junior high school, I was subjected to indecent acts by Kitamura, my club advisor, who repeatedly touched my body, pressed an electric massager against my pubic area, and pressed his penis against me. When committing obscene acts against me in Science Preparation Room No. 1, Kitamura would sometimes film me naked and scenes of him performing obscene acts on me in the name of massaging me, using a black video camera. This behavior continued until the winter of my junior year.

When I met Kitamura in the first science preparation room just before the graduation ceremony, I asked him to erase the images he had taken of me, saying things like, ‘If you have taken any pictures or videos of me, please erase them all. In response, Kitamura said, ‘Okay,’ and agreed to erase the data. So I assumed that Kitamura had erased the images he had taken as promised.”

However, Defendant Kitamura did not keep his promise with Student B and kept the images in his possession.

Next, Defendant Kitamura’s wife, Student C, appeared in court as a character witness.

Student C was a former student of Defendant Kitamura at the junior high school where he was first assigned, and they remarried in 2021. The couple has a 2-year-old child. Student C learned about the incident when the police came to their home for an investigation on September 10, 2023.

Student C stated, “My husband did something irreparable as a person,” and when asked by the jurors, “What will you do in the future?” she responded as follows.

“I want to atone, but I know that the victim may not be able to accept it. My husband has done something that cannot be atoned for. In order to properly make amends in the future, I believe it is necessary to support my husband. For him to face it and resolve this properly, I have decided to live by his side. Together, we want to support each other and make amends.”

He is willing to make amends, but…

Subsequently, Defendant Kitamura took the witness stand, and the questioning of the defendant began.

In response to the lawyer’s question, “How do you perceive your relationship with Student A?” he answered as follows.

“My way of thinking at the time was influenced by the stress from my demanding job, and I became immature, like the middle school students I interacted with daily. I stopped thinking of Student A as a middle school student and started seeing her as a woman. I fell into the illusion that we were in a relationship, where she liked me and we were dating.

I had little experience with women and had a strong complex about it. As I continued the relationship, I was always thinking about how to attract the other person and make her happy. To gain the knowledge for this, I tried to learn from adult videos and the internet.” 

He stated that he bought various devices to make Student A feel good. However, he described the shock he felt when he saw the videos he had filmed during his police interrogation, occasionally choking up as he spoke.

“I was shocked and vomited when I saw the video of me pressing the electric massager against Student A and her twisting her body. I had thought she was doing that because she was feeling good. My counselor (for sexual dysfunction) told me, ‘It’s not that your memory was rewritten, but rather that you didn’t remember.’

When I think about how much pain and suffering she must have been in, I feel like I can never make amends. I even thought about dying. However, the police and prosecutors told me that the first step in atonement is to reflect and tell the truth, which is why I am standing here today.”

As Wife C approached the witness stand, she gently touched Defendant Kitamura’s arm. He grimaced, stifled his voice, and began to sob uncontrollably. Perhaps it was then that he realized the full weight of the crime he had committed.

During the closing arguments on December 3, the prosecutor demanded a sentence of 10 years in prison. Student A’s attorney stated, “I believe a sentence heavier than the prosecutor’s demand, as severe as possible, should be imposed.” Defendant Kitamura’s lawyer argued that the charge of attempted rape resulting in injury should be dismissed and advocated for a suspended sentence.

Whether Defendant Kitamura will receive a suspended sentence will be the key issue in the ruling on December 9.

In related coverage, the article “Former Principal Arrested for Sexual Assault on Student: ‘The Depraved Methods in a Secluded Room'” discusses the serious sexual abuse Student A suffered at the hands of Defendant Kitamura.

In the related article, ” Former Principal Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Pupil, ‘Vile and Clandestine Maneuver’ “, Ms. A confides her account of the malicious sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of the defendant Kitamura.