Leg Fetish Confession Exposes His Complete Remorselessness (Part 2)

Words from the defendant that show no sign of remorse

“When I entered my daughter’s room, she was curled up on her bed, crying. I sat down on the bed and said, ‘Tell me what happened,’ and waited a while until she felt ready to talk.”

The mother of A, a junior high school girl (13 at the time of the incident), recounted how her daughter revealed the assault, speaking with anger. A was sexually victimized after being approached by self-proclaimed photographer Yamada Hiromi (55 at the time), who told her he wanted to take pictures.

The verdict for Yamada, charged with non-consensual indecent acts, will be handed down on November 6. This second part presents his statements during the trial and the furious words of A’s parents.

【Part 1】 “What nerve he has to say that”—the shocking future the defendant described in court

Yamada was arrested on November 5, 2024, by the Ikebukuro Police Station on suspicion of non-consensual sexual acts after committing indecent acts against A, and was later indicted for non-consensual indecent conduct.

In July 2023, he had also approached a junior high school girl in a park in Saitama City, again saying “Let me take your picture,” and touched her under the pretense of directing poses. He was arrested and convicted of violating the Anti-Nuisance Ordinance, receiving 1 year and 2 months imprisonment, suspended for 4 years with probation. He was still under this suspended sentence at the time of the current offense.

In response to the prosecutor’s question, “How many times did you attend the sex-offender relapse-prevention program at the probation office?” the defendant Yamada answered: “I was attending twice a month. But I was stupid, so not much of it really sank in.Thinking from the other person’s point of view was extremely hard for me. I’ve lived a very selfish life.

I sometimes thought, ‘Maybe they should just throw me in prison.’ If they had locked me up, maybe I would’ve learned faster. People say Japan is behind when it comes to dealing with sex offenders—rehabilitation programs and all that. I wish I had learned things sooner and been able to go to a hospital or treatment.”

Yamada, at times, even appeared to be joking around

He claimed that while on probation, he tried to stay home as much as possible to avoid reoffending. However, he said he was troubled by noise from the apartment above, which led him to start going to places like libraries. “That’s when things went wrong, and I started paying attention to girls,” he said, adding that he often went to Ikebukuro’s “Otome Road,” where a “lot of girls I like hang out.”

During his questioning as the defendant (August 19, 6th hearing), Yamada frequently answered with a smile. When he said he approached “girls who looked 18 or older, had nice legs, and were stylish,” his attorney asked, “Why did you use nice legs as a standard?” Yamada suddenly lowered his voice—as if confessing a deep secret—and replied, “Because I’m a leg fetishist,” even showing a playful attitude.

Regarding A, who testified that he touched her lower body, Yamada insists, “I touched her legs, but I didn’t touch her lower body.” Yet in earlier police questioning he had said, “I can’t say for certain that I absolutely didn’t touch her lower body.” When prosecutors asked, “What changed?” he responded:

“I’ve approached dozens of girls at anime shops in Ikebukuro, taken them around parks, and photographed them. I’ve touched the lower body of more than 10 of them. But after reading A’s statement, I thought, ‘No, I didn’t touch this girl.’ It’s not that I think A is lying. Anyone can have a misunderstanding.”

I feel an overwhelming anger

However, as shown in the mother’s testimony during the witness examination (June 26, 5th hearing), A was so deeply shocked that she could not immediately speak about what had happened to her. When she finally talked about the assault, A’s mother testified that she “went into hyperventilation.”

“My daughter slept very lightly and said she kept having scary dreams. There were times she woke up crying. Right after the incident, she was afraid to stay home alone, so I stayed with her. Even now, I feel an enormous amount of anger toward the perpetrator.” —A’s mother

During the prosecution’s closing argument (September 30, 7th hearing), the prosecutor stated:

“The defendant exploited the immaturity of a minor’s judgment in order to satisfy his own sexual desires. This is a heinous crime. His habitual behavior is evident, and even considering the cancellation of his previous suspended sentence, he requires a significant period of incarceration in a correctional facility.”

The prosecution sought a sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison.

The defense, meanwhile, argued:

“Regarding A’s age, he only recognized her as being around high-school age and did not check her exact age in detail, but he did not believe she was under junior high school age. Therefore, we believe a verdict of not guilty is appropriate.”

During questioning by prosecutors, Yamada reportedly said about this incident:

“Even if it was an unbearably sweet temptation for someone trying to rehabilitate, I want to tell myself to die for having done something like this again.”

During defendant questioning, Yamada said that after reentering society, he wanted to enter a specialized hospital and undergo treatment. When asked by his defense attorney, “What do you want to do in the future?” he even made a shocking statement: “I’d like to work for an NPO and help reduce future victims and offenders.” Regardless of what he claims about the future, his foremost task should be to truly rehabilitate so he never commits the same crime again.

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