Former Nursery Teacher Abused Eight Children, Court Hears

One offense after another came to light through security camera footage

“To exploit a victim who trusted him and use them as an outlet for his sexual desires—it’s the lowest act imaginable, both as a childcare worker and as a human being. I truly hope he receives the punishment he deserves.”

The fourth trial of former nursery schoolteacher Kota Yamashiro (32) was held at the Tokyo District Court on July 2. The statement from a victim’s parent, read aloud by the prosecutor, strongly conveyed a deep desire for justice and punishment.

“Yamashiro was arrested on October 9, 2024, by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Mukojima Station on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse, after sexually assaulting Boy A. The child was a student at a nursery school in Sumida Ward where Yamashiro had been working since 2019, and the assault reportedly took place during nap time. The case came to light after Boy A’s father consulted the police in late August.”

“When police analyzed the nursery school’s security camera footage, they uncovered a series of assaults against other young boys as well. Reportedly, some of the victims didn’t even recognize what had happened to them as abuse and spoke innocently to their parents about what was done to them,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs section.

In the first two hearings, the court examined the cases of Boy A and Boy B—who was assaulted on the same day—as well as Boy C, whose case came to light during the second trial. From the third hearing on May 20 through to the fourth, the court addressed the assaults on Boys D through H, in the order they were indicted. This brought the total number of boy victims to eight. The indictments and opening statements revealed the vile nature of Yamashiro’s actions against these multiple young victims.

Various areas of the nursery school had become scenes of the crime

“In mid-November 2023, the defendant placed his penis in D-kun’s mouth and performed oral intercourse on him in the third-floor hallway of the nursery school.”

“Around June 2024, the defendant committed lewd acts in the library on the third floor of the nursery school, including forcing E to lick his penis.”

“In mid-August 2024, the defendant committed lewd acts in the nursery school’s third-floor nursery room, including inserting his hand into F’s pants and touching his buttocks.”

“In mid-November 2023, the defendant committed indecent acts, such as pressing his penis against G-kun’s buttocks, in a nursery room on the third floor of the nursery school.”

“In late July 2024, the defendant committed indecent acts, such as inserting his hand into H-kun’s pants and touching and fondling his genitals, in a nursery room on the third floor of the nursery school.”

After being assaulted, Boys D and E spoke to their guardians about what had happened. Upon learning about the case through media reports, the parents recognized the incidents as abuse and reported them to the police. The assaults on Boys F through H were discovered during the analysis of the nursery school’s security camera footage.

The defendant, Yamashiro, stated, “There’s no mistake about the acts I committed, but I don’t recall the exact dates of the incidents involving D and E.”

During the trial, the prosecutor read aloud a portion of a victim’s guardian’s statement, as mentioned earlier. Another guardian’s statement was likewise filled with anger toward Yamashiro.

“The offender needs to fully acknowledge that he has betrayed so many people and reflect deeply on his actions. I never want him to work with children again. If possible, I hope he receives a severe punishment and never comes out of prison.”

Throughout the trials so far, Yamashiro has only denied one allegation—specifically, the assault on Boy C in late July 2024, in which he allegedly touched the boy’s genitals over his clothes—stating, “I assert that I did not do that.”

The next session is scheduled to include direct questioning of the defendant. With representatives for the victims present, it remains to be seen whether Yamashiro will offer a sincere apology to the victims and their guardians.

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At the time of his arrest (October 2024), he stated, “I don’t want to talk about the case at all.”