Trial Highlights Self-Serving Conduct of Man Accused of Assaulting 8-Year-Old Girl

From among the many crime-related articles reported by FRIDAY Digital in 2025, we present a carefully selected feature in the “2025 Heinous & Major Crime Wide” series. This time, we introduce the “Trial of Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse of an 8-Year-Old Girl.” We report on how a man who sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl on her way home after buying her father a birthday present spun his self-serving arguments.

The girl was crying

On February 6, 2025, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Sagamihara Station arrested defendant Ayata Yamaguchi (34) on suspicion of non-consensual intercourse. He is suspected of sexually assaulting Ms. A (then 8 years old) by luring her into the premises of an abandoned house around 7 PM on September 3, 2024.

Ms. A reportedly fell victim on her way home after buying a birthday present for her father. The incident came to light when a teacher noticed Ms. A crying in front of the elementary school she attends, inquired about the situation, and called the police.

Defendant Yamaguchi had previously been sentenced to prison for indecent assault against another elementary school girl on March 23, 2019. He committed a similar offense less than three years after being released.

FRIDAY Digital reported on the trial of this case over the course of three sessions. During the first trial held at the Yokohama District Court on April 14, details of Yamaguchi’s crime were revealed through the indictment read by the prosecutor, as summarized below (segments in brackets are quoted from past articles).

《“The defendant received a custodial sentence of two years and four months on March 23, 2019, for the crime of forcible indecency. After his release, he repeatedly entered and left support facilities, and from around the summer of 2024 he was living on the streets in Sagamihara City.

On the night of September 3, 2024, the defendant had been drinking alcohol and his sexual desire had increased, so he thought he wanted to forcibly have sexual intercourse with a girl. In order to look for a girl, he went to the vicinity of a busy store near the crime scene. Then, upon noticing A passing by, he followed her, threatened her by saying things like ‘Don’t scream. I’ll kill you,’ took her to the crime location, and sexually assaulted A. After committing the crime, the defendant fled.”》

According to the prosecutor, during police questioning, defendant Yamaguchi stated the following regarding his motive for the crime.

 

《”That day, I drank whiskey and felt overwhelmed with a lustful mood. I reached the limit of my patience, so I thought about attacking someone. I headed to a place with a lot of people and found a little girl there. She was my type, so I wanted to do something indecent and chased her. Then, I intended to attack her in a deserted place and took her into the premises of an empty house.”》

Furthermore, the prosecutor read aloud the deposition of A’s father. It was filled with the anger and sadness of a parent whose beloved daughter had been harmed.

《”My daughter, until recently, was afraid to go out alone, and unless she was going out with the family, she hardly ever went out by herself. I cannot forgive the perpetrator who did such a despicable thing to my beloved daughter. I hope a severe punishment is given to the perpetrator.”》

In response to this heartrending outcry, what did defendant Yamaguchi have to say? During the defendant questioning at the second hearing on May 22, he looked back on his crime and spoke the following words of remorse. However, they were far from something that could be seen as him having sufficiently confronted the crime he committed.

《“I believe I did something terribly wrong to the victim. I suffer from alcohol dependence, and when I drink alcohol, my sexual desire increases and I become unable to control myself. I believe that my inability to quit alcohol was the cause of this incident.”

When asked by his defense attorney, ‘If it were not for the influence of alcohol, would you not have committed a sexual crime like this?’ he answered ‘Yes,’ and promised that after returning to society he would work to overcome his alcohol dependence at a support facility.”》

Yamaguchi’s remarks, which seemed to frame the crime as being because of alcohol dependence, prompted the prosecutor to press him with pointed questions.

《In response to the question, “Isn’t becoming sexually aroused after drinking alcohol a separate matter from committing a crime such as non-consensual sexual intercourse?” Yamaguchi answered as follows:

“I had no money and couldn’t go to a sex establishment, so I ended up committing a crime. When I drink too much alcohol, even though I know it’s wrong, I end up doing it. I couldn’t go to a sex establishment, and I also like small children, so I did it.”

The prosecutor pressed further. “What was the cause of this crime—was it that you couldn’t go to a sex establishment, or that you wanted to commit sexual acts against an elementary-school-aged girl?”》

Confronted with such questioning, Yamaguchi appeared to resign himself and stated the following:

《“I like children who are still young and know nothing, so I ended up targeting such children. I have always liked small children, and after drinking alcohol and becoming emboldened, I went ahead and committed the crime.”》

It was the mother who reported to the police

In closing arguments, the prosecutor stated, “The defendant committed this crime to satisfy his own sexual desire, which is extremely malicious. We must say that the risk of reoffending is very high,” and sought a prison sentence of seven years. The defense lawyer requested, “We ask for the most lenient possible sentence,” and the trial concluded.

At the sentencing hearing on July 11, 2025, Yamaguchi was handed a prison term of six years and six months. Presiding Judge Mayumi Terasawa cited the reasoning for the sentence, stating, “The act was despicable and malicious, instilling severe fear in A, who likely could not even understand the meaning of sexual acts. After just over three years since completing a prior sentence, he committed an offense against an even younger girl with greater impact, and such decision-making deserves strong condemnation.”

Regarding Yamaguchi at the time of the crime, reporter Ryo Nakahira, who covered the trial, explained:

“Yamaguchi was, as he admitted, an alcoholic, and after his release, he stayed at a private support facility in Sagamihara. However, he repeatedly entered and left the facility, saying ‘I can’t manage relationships,’ and at the time of the crime, he had fled and was living on the streets. After the incident, he cohabited with a woman he met in a park while living on the streets. After Yamaguchi’s arrest, the woman told the police, ‘I intend to separate from him going forward, and I don’t want to share my new address. I hope he properly atones for his crimes.’

The trigger for the arrest was reportedly that Yamaguchi’s mother spotted him near a drugstore close to their home and called the police. Perhaps she, too, wished for him to be caught as soon as possible while he was still wanted.”

At the trial, the head of the support facility appeared as a witness for the defense and testified that they had agreed to take him back after release. Yamaguchi, who not only caused severe mental and physical harm to a very young girl but also repeatedly troubled those around him, faces the question of whether he can truly rehabilitate this time.

Yamaguchi did not appeal, and his sentence became final.