<figure id="attachment_417746" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417746"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cb5cb60d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/edecbd1d1b6520e1fbc6fda4a36cd0cc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417746" class="wp-caption-text">Everyone in the courtroom was stunned by the defendant&#8217;s claims (image shown).</figcaption></figure>
<h3>The defendant was a habitual offender.</h3>
&#8220;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&#8217;t apologize. I thought doing something she would hate would be best, so I (sexually assaulted her).&#8221;
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, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; 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, &#8220;Come here for a minute,&#8221; and took him to a garage about 30 meters away. The defendant said, &#8220;That hurt&#8221; and &#8220;I&#8217;ll call the police&#8221; 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&#8217;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, &#8220;I did not insert my fingers or do anything that could have caused harm,&#8221; 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.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Takahashi's allegations stunned everyone in the courtroom."></div>
<h3>Takahashi, the defendant, claimed that he had no interest in sexual acts</h3>
At the first trial, the defendant&#8217;s questioning took place in the afternoon.
First, the defense attorney asked, &#8220;After A stopped their bicycle, why did you move to the garage instead of making them apologize there?&#8221;
Defendant Takahashi responded:
&#8220;Because it was in front of a house where lessons were being held, and I was worried that if someone came out, it would put me at a disadvantage. I thought I could avoid being seen there.&#8221;
At this point, Takahashi insisted, &#8220;Even then, A did not apologize.&#8221;
&#8220;I went into the garage and shouted, &#8216;Apologize!&#8217; A had a blank expression and said nothing. That made me even more irritated, so I decided to do something they would dislike, which led me to commit sexual assault.&#8221;
However, he strongly denied inserting his fingers into A&#8217;s genital area and causing injury.
&#8220;There is no reason to insert my fingers into someone I know is a child and cause them pain. I wanted to harass them, but I did not want to injure them. I have diabetes and have lost my male function, so I have no interest in sexual acts. I also have no interest in young girls.&#8221;
When the defense attorney asked, &#8220;If your purpose was harassment, weren’t there other ways to do it?&#8221; he claimed:
&#8220;That’s the pathological part of me. My thoughts automatically turn to sexual crimes. I can&#8217;t control it.&#8221;
Despite saying he had no interest in young girls, Takahashi had taken a photo of A with his smartphone before fleeing. He later deleted it, but the police recovered it, revealing an image of A with a completely expressionless face, devoid of emotion.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why did he take the photo?"></div>
<h3>Why did he refuse to apologize to his parents?</h3>
When the defense attorney asked, &#8220;Why did you take the photo?&#8221; Takahashi responded:
&#8220;Because she was cute. A told me, &#8216;Don&#8217;t post it on TikTok or anything. I won&#8217;t tell anyone, so you don&#8217;t tell anyone either.&#8217; So I told her, &#8216;I won’t tell anyone, it’s a promise,&#8217; and we parted ways.&#8221;
However, during police questioning, A stated, &#8220;The perpetrator told me to keep it a secret, but when I got home and started crying, my father asked me what was wrong, so I told him what had happened.&#8221;
Takahashi&#8217;s claim that A said, &#8220;I won&#8217;t tell anyone,&#8221; seemed rather far-fetched. Even the defense attorney appeared caught off guard, saying, &#8220;There are things coming up now that I hadn’t heard before.&#8221;
The prosecutor also raised doubts, asking, &#8220;A stated that the defendant told her to keep it a secret. Are you saying that’s not true? Up until that point, she was too terrified to speak, but suddenly, she started talking about not posting on TikTok?&#8221;
At this, Takahashi raised his voice and insisted, &#8220;It didn’t come from me. A was the one who said, &#8216;I won’t tell anyone, so you don’t either.'&#8221;
Throughout the questioning, Takahashi never once expressed any words of apology. Presiding Judge Jun Shimato urged him, saying, &#8220;Can you offer an apology to A’s parents, who are present here?&#8221;
Takahashi only responded, &#8220;If they want an apology, I’ll get down on my knees and do whatever, but I doubt they want one.&#8221;
At the end of the questioning, Judge Shimato asked, &#8220;Is there anything else you would like to say about the incident?&#8221;
Takahashi maintained his self-centered attitude, focusing solely on minimizing his sentence by insisting, &#8220;I did not injure her genital area.&#8221;
Judge Shimato replied, &#8220;We&#8217;ve already heard that claim,&#8221; and the first trial session was concluded.
<a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/417775">[Part Two] &#8220;Never Return to Society Again&#8221; – The Verdict That Left the Victim&#8217;s Parents in Tears covers the second trial, where the victim&#8217;s family shared their emotions and the final judgment on Takahashi was delivered.</a>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The devilish face of Takahashi, who trampled on the life of a girl"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_417764" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 514px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417764"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="16000d6b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/a59344d63383db7a901e64a17da141dc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417764" class="wp-caption-text">Takahashi at the time of his arrest in August 2024.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_417765" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1913px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417765"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="75328599"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/597c1d3f2295285b0841600b47d0efa7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417765" class="wp-caption-text">When Takahashi was sent to prosecutors in August 2024, he explained that his reason for the crime was to punish her.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_417766" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1313px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-417766"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0e7d9c5e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/03/2ebb62d3db0d6bf1df979155f4e87b08.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-417766" class="wp-caption-text">His persistent denial of having injured the young girl seemed like an attempt to minimize his own culpability as much as possible.</figcaption></figure>
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 Shinji Hasuo (2nd to 4th pictures)

 On March 4, a jury trial was held for a case of nonconsensual sexual assault of an elementary school girl that occurred in July '24. The defendant denied part of the crime, saying that she did not cause the injury. He repeatedly made self-serving statements that upset the feelings of the victim's family.

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

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