69-Year-Old Defendant’s Bizarre Excuse in Child Assault Case

The defendant was a habitual offender.

“I was really irritated because she ran away without saying anything after bumping into me with her bicycle. I wondered how I could punish a child who wouldn’t apologize. I thought doing something she would hate would be best, so I (sexually assaulted her).”

Shingo Takahashi, 69, who is facing charges of sexual assault of an elementary school student, said of his motive for committing the crime: In August of 2024, He had a sexual assault on my daughter, A, who was in elementary school.

“On August 3, 2024, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested the defendant, Shingo Takahashi, on suspicion of trespassing and non-consensual intercourse, alleging that he sexually assaulted A after picking a quarrel with her.

On July 23 of the same year, Takahashi had stopped his bicycle on the street to smoke when A, who was riding her bicycle to a lesson, accidentally bumped into him. Enraged that A did not apologize and rode away, Takahashi followed her for approximately 300 meters before committing the sexual assault. A testified that she had immediately said, “I’m sorry,” but Takahashi claimed that he had not heard her.

The incident came to light when A and her father reported it to a local police box on the day it occurred. A subsequent medical examination determined that Takahashi had inserted his fingers into A’s genital area, causing injuries. As a result, he was indicted for non-consensual intercourse resulting in injury and trespassing.” (National Newspaper Social Affairs Reporter)

The jury trial of Takahashi was held at the Tokyo District Court on March 4, 2025. Takahashi, who appeared in court wearing dark clothing, was about 160 cm tall with a shaved head and gray hair. He had a shaved head with gray hair, broad shoulders, and an intimidating appearance as he looked around with squinted eyes.

According to the opening statement read out by the prosecutor, when Takahashi caught up with Mr. A, who had stopped his bicycle to study, he called out to him, “Come here for a minute,” and took him to a garage about 30 meters away. The defendant said, “That hurt” and “I’ll call the police” to scare Ms. A so that she would not be able to escape, and then he committed indecent acts on her. After inserting his finger into Ms. A’s pubic area and causing her to suffer an injury of unknown severity, the defendant told her to keep it a secret and fled.

Regarding the charges, defendant Takahashi denied causing injury, stating, “I did not insert my fingers or do anything that could have caused harm,” and showed a willingness to contest the allegations. Additionally, the prosecutor revealed that Takahashi had four prior convictions, including two for similar offenses, and disclosed details of his most recent conviction.

The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005 for incidents including rape resulting in injury involving three women. In 2018, he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for cases of forcible indecency involving two women. Later, in 2022, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for assault after poking the chest of a then 14-year-old girl on a sidewalk. He was released in September 2023. Most of the victims were girls between the ages of 14 and 17.