“There’s No Doubt He’s a Pedophile”: Former Staff Member Who Sexually Abused Children with Disabilities One After Another—The Unfathomable “Full Extent of the Abuse”

More than 4,000 photos and videos of young girls

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with them,”

A man who lured a 5-year-old girl with a disability into his home and committed lewd acts. In court, despite his tall stature—appearing to be at least 180 cm—he admitted his guilt in a voice so soft it was barely audible.

“On April 11, ’26, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Juvenile Welfare Division and the Hachioji Police Station arrested defendant Takaya Goto (46), a former employee responsible for transporting children at a facility for children with disabilities, on suspicion of non-consensual indecent acts and other charges.Goto is suspected of luring a girl, identified as A (then 5 years old), who attended the facility, into his apartment in ’24, committing indecent acts against her, and filming the incident.

During questioning, Goto reportedly denied the charges, saying, ‘I don’t know how this happened,’ but also stated, ‘My sexual interests range from nursery schoolers to kindergarteners and elementary school students; there is no doubt that I am a lolicon’” (Social Affairs Reporter, National Newspaper).

The case came to light in November ’25 after the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department received a tip that “a man named Takaya Goto may be in possession of child pornography.” Following his arrest on April 11, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department conducted a search of his residence and vehicle, seizing a smartphone and DVDs containing child pornography. It is reported that more than 4,000 obscene videos and photos of multiple young girls were stored on these devices.Analysis of the seized items led to his subsequent re-arrest. The reporter mentioned earlier continues:

“On May 14, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department re-arrested Goto on charges including indecent acts without consent. He is suspected of luring a then-6-year-old girl—who was attending a support facility for children with disabilities in ’24—into the restrooms of his apartment and a commercial facility on five separate occasions, where he committed indecent acts and recorded them on his smartphone.Defendant Goto denies the charges, stating, ‘I have no memory of it.’

Subsequently, on June 2, he was arrested for the third time on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse with a girl who was 9 years old at the time, among other charges. He is suspected of taking the girl—who was attending a support facility for children with disabilities in ’24—to multipurpose restrooms at commercial facilities and other locations, where he allegedly committed indecent acts on five separate occasions and recorded them on his smartphone.Although all of these offenses were committed while he was driving the children to and from their destinations, Goto reportedly remained silent regarding this particular case.”

Exchanging Photos with “Like-Minded People”

On June 11, the first hearing for defendant Goto was held at the Tachikawa Branch of the Tokyo District Court.

As revealed by the indictment read by the prosecutor and the opening statement, this was a despicable crime in which the defendant exploited Ms. A’s vulnerability—her difficulty communicating verbally—in an attempt to satisfy his own desires.

In February ’24, Defendant Goto lured Ms. A into his apartment, touched her lower body, filmed the act on his smartphone, and saved four video files to his device. The prosecutor pointed out his relationships with others who shared the same sexual preferences.

“(Defendant Goto) repeatedly brought children attending a support facility for people with disabilities to his residence at the time and engaged in lewd acts with them; he also exchanged sexually explicit images of the children with third parties.”

The proceedings at the initial hearing focused on three charges: non-consensual indecent acts against Ms. A, filming sexual poses, and violation of the Child Pornography Prohibition Act.Although Defendant Goto had denied the charges after his arrest, stating, “I don’t know why I brought them home,” once he took the stand, he nodded slightly and admitted to the charges as described above.

During the trial, the prosecutor read aloud a written statement from Ms. A’s guardian. The content conveyed intense anger toward defendant Goto.

Fourth Arrest on the 16th

“My husband and I have not asked our daughter about this incident, nor do we intend to. Even if we did, I don’t think she would answer. However, we cannot forgive the perpetrator who did this to our only daughter, who is so precious to us. We hope the perpetrator will be given a severe punishment.”

Defendant Goto passed the childcare worker examination in 2016 and worked as a childcare worker. He also holds a Type 1 Kindergarten Teacher’s License. At the time of the incident, he was a staff member at a facility supporting children with disabilities, where he was responsible for transporting children; however, that facility has since closed. At the time of his arrest, he was working at a different facility. He was dismissed from that facility effective May 1 of this year.

During police questioning, Defendant Goto reportedly admitted , “There is no doubt that I am a lolicon.” Although he attended university to obtain his childcare worker and kindergarten teacher licenses, did he not realize his sexual preferences while studying? Or did he pursue these careers precisely because of his sexual preferences?

On June 16, Goto was arrested yet again on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and other charges. This marks his fourth arrest. He is suspected of luring a then-9-year-old girl who attended the facility into a shopping mall restroom while driving her to and from the facility in February 2024, sexually assaulting her, and filming the act.

Goto is reportedly remaining silent regarding this case as well. It seems it will take quite some time for the full extent of his crimes to come to light—and to determine just how many other offenses he has committed. One thing is certain: this monster must not be set free into society. A severe punishment is warranted.