Verdict Issued in Case of 79-Year-Old Who Abducted High School Girl

The verdict delivered to the 79-year-old defendant

“You’re cute. How much allowance do you get?”

These words were said to high school girl A (then 15 years old) before she was abducted by car and sexually assaulted. Takao Okubo (79) was charged with obscene abduction and non-consensual intercourse, and a verdict was delivered.

On November 21, at the Saitama District Court, Okubo, wearing a gray jumper, white shirt, and black pants, entered the courtroom. As he sat at the defendant’s seat with a “heave-ho” sound, he alternated between looking down and raising his head to stare forward, appearing restless. After nodding once to his wife in the gallery, he sat at the witness stand.

To this Okubo, Judge Masahito Murohashi stated, “You committed the crime without considering the feelings of the victim who was fearful in the car,” and sentenced him to “five years in prison (prosecution had demanded six years).”

The incident occurred on May 11th.

Okubo, the defendant, had parked his car beside the park, was eating lunch inside and relaxing when he noticed Ms. A walking from the front. Upon seeing Ms. A and thinking she was thoroughly cute, the defendant called out as mentioned in the beginning, followed by saying, “Shall I give you around 2000 yen? Want to get in the car?” and claimed that Ms. A voluntarily got into the car. He then drove to a deserted area and committed the crime.

In the trial, he reflected on his feelings at that time:

“I thought of doing something sexual, so I moved to a deserted area. I did not have any desire for sex or anything like that. To be clear, I thought it might be okay to play a prank.”

To the judge’s question, “What does that prank mean?” he responded, “Touching or kissing, things like that.”

According to Okubo’s testimony, Ms. A did not show any signs of rejection towards the defendant and rather seemed willing to get into the car. However, Ms. A described the moment when defendant Okubo spoke to her during police and prosecutor’s questioning like this.

The victim’s side states, “We cannot forgive.”

“Suddenly, I was spoken to, and it was so scary that I couldn’t run away or raise my voice. I couldn’t tell my mother on the day about the sexual assault by Okubo because I thought it would worry her. Even now, when I think about being taken away, I’m scared and can’t go out alone.”

Furthermore, Okubo, who sexually assaulted A-san in the car, reportedly handed over two 1,000 yen bills to A-san. A-san stated during the investigation, “I accepted the 2,000 yen as it was. I found the man (Okubo) scary and disgusting, so I opened the car door myself and walked back home quickly.”

The lack of guilt of Okubo at the time of the incident is apparent from the events leading to his arrest. Two days after the incident, he happened to see A-san and followed them by car, incredibly, right up to in front of their house.

When the frightened A-san complained to their mother, “The man who gave me money last time followed me,” A-san’s mother approached Okubo, who had parked in front of their house, and said, “We cannot accept this money,” returning the 2,000 yen.

“Buy yourself something you like with this money,”

Okubo, the defendant, said.

When she replied, “No, thank you,”

he answered, “What the hell,”

and drove off.

A’s mother described what happened on the day Okubo appeared in front of their home as follows:

“It was such a suspicious incident that I thought I should ask the police to patrol the area, so I called them. After making that call, I heard from my daughter that the man had touched her body. I can never forgive the perpetrator.”

True to her words, “I can never forgive him,” the mother refused to accept any settlement from Okubo and even rejected a written apology until the very end.

He also had a side as a philanthropist, yet

Even though Okubo admitted to sexually assaulting A inside the car, he claimed that the victim had taken off her clothes voluntarily. The prosecutor countered, saying that this was highly unlikely. After delivering the verdict, Presiding Judge Murohashi stated:

“Given the objective circumstances that the victim encountered a defendant she did not know, and her consistent statement that she was afraid, it is hard to believe that the victim voluntarily removed her clothing. The defendant’s testimony is therefore unreliable.”

Okubo, who turned 79 while in detention, suffered from diabetes and occasionally collapsed due to fluctuations in blood sugar. His defense argued that, considering his current health, detention in a correctional facility was inappropriate and that he should be allowed to live with his family in society. However, Judge Murohashi ruled that the case did not warrant leniency and sentenced him to prison.

Before his arrest, Okubo had been a philanthropist, donating to UNICEF annually, volunteering at nursing homes, and performing enka and traditional Japanese dance for 30 years. However, his admission in court—“I thought I could satisfy my sexual desire with money. I had male sexual urges”—revealed the motivation behind his crime: forcibly acting on those urges with a 15-year-old girl he happened to see. This act nullified his philanthropic record and left lifelong scars not only on A and her family but also on his own wife and family.

When the verdict was handed down, Okubo kept his head bowed and remained motionless for a while. Only after being prompted by court staff did he finally stand, have handcuffs placed on him, and leave the courtroom.

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