<figure id="attachment_466270" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466270" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="915223cc"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/4dc288933e6acd4dc9842b060f7123e7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466270" class="wp-caption-text">Sentencing was handed down for defendant Moriyama, who was accused of indecent assault on five elementary and junior high school girls (images are for reference only).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Sentence handed down</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Moriyama said, &#8220;Many times I thought, &#8216;I have to stop,&#8217; but as time went by, I would do it again. It was a repetition.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> The 31-year-old man, who repeatedly indecently assaulted girls on the street and solicited them for papa activities, was unable to stop his crimes until he was eventually arrested.</p>
<p> On April 17, Hayate Moriyama, 31, was sentenced in Chiba District Court on charges of indecent assault and non-consensual sexual intercourse with five girls.</p>
<p> Moriyama appeared in court wearing a black sweatshirt with his hair cut short from the shoulders. Judge Tomofumi Ikeda sentenced Moriyama to <span class="strongInContent">five years and six months in prison (with a seven-year sentence) on</span> the <span class="strongInContent">grounds that &#8220;the fear and anxiety of the young victims, who were suddenly victimized in the course of their daily lives, were great</span>.</p>
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<p> The trial had revealed that he had been so reckless as to stop his car and follow the girls whenever he saw them, even if he was at work.</p>
<p> In early September 2013, Moriyama was driving a car loaned to him by the company he was working for at the time when he saw Ms. A (then 12 years old), stopped his car on the sidewalk, and simultaneously followed her. After passing her, he turned around and touched her breasts several times as he passed her.</p>
<p> In late August 2013, when he found Ms. B (then 13 years old) leaning against a telephone pole because she was not feeling well, he <span class="strongInContent">asked her, &#8220;Are you all right?</span> When Ms. B replied that she <span class="strongInContent">was fine</span>, he touched her breasts and left the scene.</p>
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<p> In mid-July 2013, Moriyama parked his car in a coin-operated parking lot to visit a business client and came across a group of elementary school students leaving school <span class="strongInContent">.</span> When he saw E-san (10 years old at the time), who was walking alone away from the group, he approached her and touched her breasts as they passed each other.</p>
<p> For these acts, Moriyama was charged with indecent assault against the three girls.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" He was completely suspicious."></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Soliciting &#8220;Papa Katsudo&#8221; on the street</span></h3>
<p> Moriyama also solicited young men on the street to engage in &#8220;papa-katsu,&#8221; a form of sexual activity in which a young man is paid money to engage in sexual activity with another young man.</p>
<p> In late August 2013, Moriyama found Ms. C (13 years old at the time) in front of a station in Chiba Prefecture, and showed her a smartphone displaying a message <span class="strongInContent">such as &#8220;Won&#8217;t you join me for papa-katsu?</span> After that, he found Ms. C again and invited her to join him <span class="strongInContent">, saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry for earlier, I&#8217;ll give you 40,000 yen,&#8221; to</span> which Ms. C agreed, and he had intercourse with her at a hotel. He then had sexual intercourse with Ms. C at a hotel. He also photographed and saved the act and Ms. C&#8217;s student notebook.</p>
<p> In early April 2013, Moriyama was looking for a partner for daddy&#8217; <span class="strongInContent">s</span> little girl at a store in Chiba Prefecture, when he passed behind Ms. D (then 12 years old) and touched her buttocks. He then said to her, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Follow</span> me <span class="strongInContent">.</span> When Ms. D became frightened and shook her head, he left.</p>
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<p> The defendant was charged with five counts of violating the Chiba Prefectural Nuisance Prevention Ordinance against Ms. D, and five counts of non-consensual sexual intercourse, photographing of sexual acts, and violation of the Child Pornography Law against Ms. C. The defendant was also charged with violating the Child Pornography Law against Ms. C.</p>
<p> Moriyama explained that he solicited &#8220;papa katsu&#8221; directly on the street because <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;on the street, you can see and choose your partner face-to-face.</span> In reality, however, Moriyama was not being selective; rather, he was calling out to everyone he came across.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was not just being selective; he was calling out to people who were shopping at convenience stores. You are completely suspicious. Were you ever concerned that the police might catch you if you continued in this manner?</span></p>
<p> Moriyama replied, &#8220;I <span class="strongInContent">was worried that the police might catch me, but I couldn&#8217;t stop.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" I couldn&#39;t control myself anymore."></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">The defendant recalled his &#8220;state of mind at the time.&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> He claimed that the reason behind his repeated offenses was that he <span class="strongInContent">was under a lot of stress at work, including being forced to do a job that was different from the one he was hired for, and he lost control of himself.</span></p>
<p> But why did he take the action of sexually assaulting the girl as a way of coping with stress? Moriyama recalled his feelings at the time.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I targeted girls because I had a tendency to get sexually aroused by underage girls and also because I thought it wouldn&#8217;t make too much of a scene. And when I lost control of myself due to great stress, I think I turned toward sexual assault.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> He then stated, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;I can no longer control myself, so I am considering seeing a specialist clinic.</span></p>
<p> After handing down the verdict, Judge Ikeda <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;The victim&#8217;s mental distress is considerable, and I fear that it will have a negative impact on her healthy upbringing.</span> It is <span class="strongInContent">only natural that the victims and their families demand severe punishment,&#8221;</span> he said, explaining the reasons for the sentence. Moriyama stood on the witness stand and did not move his body. He then bowed deeply as he said <span class="strongInContent">, &#8220;This concludes my pronouncement of the sentence.</span></p>
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<p> Moriyama had been arrested and detained for indecent assault of a girl around 10 years old before this arrest. At that time, he was not prosecuted because the victims agreed to settle out of court. This time, however, none of the victims agreed to a settlement, <span class="strongInContent">saying that they would never forgive him</span>, so he was prosecuted and sentenced to prison.</p>
<p> If they did not appeal the case, they would serve their sentences.</p>
<p> Will he be able to stop sexually assaulting the girl this time, which <span class="strongInContent">he &#8220;couldn&#8217;t stop even if he wanted to&#8221;</span>?</p>


 Ryo Nakahira

 On April 17, a 31-year-old man who repeatedly committed indecent acts with elementary and junior high school girls and engaged in paparazzi activities without regard to where he was at work was sentenced. The verdict was given to a man who said his motive was "stress from work.

Ruling: &#8220;Even if I wanted to stop, I couldn&#8217;t&#8221;&#8230; A man who repeatedly indecently assaulted elementary and junior high school students in an unprincipled manner was brought to justice.

Ruling: “Even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t”… A man who repeatedly indecently assaulted elementary and junior high school students in an unprincipled manner was brought to justice.

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