69-Year-Old Defendant’s Bizarre Excuse in Child Assault Case
Why did he refuse to apologize to his parents?
When the defense attorney asked, “Why did you take the photo?” Takahashi responded:
“Because she was cute. A told me, ‘Don’t post it on TikTok or anything. I won’t tell anyone, so you don’t tell anyone either.’ So I told her, ‘I won’t tell anyone, it’s a promise,’ and we parted ways.”
However, during police questioning, A stated, “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.”
Takahashi’s claim that A said, “I won’t tell anyone,” seemed rather far-fetched. Even the defense attorney appeared caught off guard, saying, “There are things coming up now that I hadn’t heard before.”
The prosecutor also raised doubts, asking, “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?”
At this, Takahashi raised his voice and insisted, “It didn’t come from me. A was the one who said, ‘I won’t tell anyone, so you don’t either.'”
Throughout the questioning, Takahashi never once expressed any words of apology. Presiding Judge Jun Shimato urged him, saying, “Can you offer an apology to A’s parents, who are present here?”
Takahashi only responded, “If they want an apology, I’ll get down on my knees and do whatever, but I doubt they want one.”
At the end of the questioning, Judge Shimato asked, “Is there anything else you would like to say about the incident?”
Takahashi maintained his self-centered attitude, focusing solely on minimizing his sentence by insisting, “I did not injure her genital area.”
Judge Shimato replied, “We’ve already heard that claim,” and the first trial session was concluded.
