Spiritual Cleansing or Predatory Trap? Self-Proclaimed Psychic Accused of Assault

“There’s a man’s vengeful spirit attached to you. It’s a very dangerous situation—you need an exorcism immediately.”

The man sent a direct message like this to a woman. Under the pretense of performing a spiritual cleansing, he is alleged to have committed sexual assault.

By June 24, the Shinjuku Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had arrested suspect Shinetsu Sato (28), an unemployed resident of Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, on suspicion of non-consensual intercourse and related charges. Sato allegedly claimed to be a first-class spiritual medium specializing in celebrities and is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s, referred to as Ms. A.

“Sato contacted Ms. A via social media. Ms. A was doing live streaming, and he sent her a message saying, ‘I sensed something bad from your post, so I sent a DM.’ Perhaps to avoid raising suspicion, he used a fake name and messaged things like, ‘A vengeful spirit is attached to you.’

He then said, ‘I know someone who can perform an exorcism,’ and introduced himself as the first-class spiritual medium. Sato told her things like, ‘You’re so heavily possessed I can’t even see your face clearly,’ and ‘It’s glaring at you from your closet.’ He allegedly proposed coming to Ms. A’s home to perform a cleansing,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs desk.

“I’m not doing this because I want to.”

Exploiting the psychological vulnerability of a woman gripped by fear, suspect Sato allegedly traveled on March 7 from his home in Ōshū City, Iwate Prefecture, to Ms. A’s apartment in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. The transportation cost of approximately 27,000 yen was reportedly paid by Ms. A.

“Around that time, Sato is said to have chanted sutras and told Ms. A, who was seated on her bed, the following: ‘Unless I use your body for the exorcism, the spirit won’t leave. This is a real method of spiritual cleansing.’ When Ms. A refused, he allegedly pressured her by saying things like, ‘I came all this way for you—do you want to die? I’m not doing this because I want to,’ further fueling her fear. Between March 7 and the following day, March 8, Sato is alleged to have sexually assaulted Ms. A multiple times,” said the same source.

Sato reportedly stayed in Ms. A’s apartment until March 9, the day after the assault. When he left on March 10, Ms. A went to a nearby police box and reported the crime, leading to the case’s discovery. According to investigators, Sato has denied the allegations, stating: “It’s true I placed salt around the room and chanted sutras, but I didn’t engage in any sexual acts.”

Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa offered the following analysis of the case:

“If the charges are true, this is an extremely malicious and cunning crime. There have long been cases where women suffering from spiritual concerns seek advice from mediums and end up becoming victims of sexual abuse. But this case is different—the perpetrator approached the victim by pretending to be someone offering help. On top of that, he manipulated her psychological state to push her into an anxious, vulnerable position.

From the victim’s perspective, opening up about her fears or inviting someone into her home likely made her feel some sense of guilt. In this case, the woman bravely went to the police, but I suspect many women feel trapped and remain silent, especially after even paying the perpetrator’s travel expenses. There may be other victims as well.”

It’s reported that around last summer, Sato began claiming to possess special powers and started operating as a spiritual medium.