Osaka prefectural police have arrested a 74-year-old man for allegedly committing indecent acts against a girl under the age of 10 in an apartment in early June.
According to police, Yutaka Okada is an acquaintance of the girl's mother, and was taking care of the child at her request at the time of the incident, broadcaster NTV reported.
Police said Okada works in early childhood education at Osaka University of Arts and has experience as a teacher.
The girl’s mother reported the incident to the police after her daughter told her what had happened.
Police said Okada has denied the allegations, and quoted him as saying, "I did not commit any indecent acts."
© Japan Today
24 Comments
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sakurasuki
That seven times age gap in difference.
WoodyLee
Hard case to prove probably if he has NO criminal history of this kind, may be it did happen but I hope it did NOT.
A child psychologist will tell you that Sometime kids can and will say things that they think it may have happened especially when interrogated, best of luck for the child and I pray for her full recovery if it happened.
TokyoLiving
To jail with that loser clown..
GuruMick
Kids can lie and more importantly an aging brain loses much of its functions that would prevent inappropriate behavior of all types.
Dont rush to judgement people. Especially the "jail him ! jail him " brigade.
Lindsay
You can be sure this is not the first time he has done it but only the first time he got caught.
spidersenses
It's a miracle that she confided in her mother. Many girls and women never disclose their experiences of sexual assault. Fortunately, their relationship was open enough for her to feel safe speaking up.
The harsh reality of sexual assault, particularly in Japan, is that many women endure the trauma of sexual assault for their entire lives and often never share their pain with anyone.
It's a deeply sad but silent catastrophe.
Marlon Brando
The girl said it happened - why would a 10-year-old girl lie about something that is, for most Japanese girls, a shameful, embarrassing and highly stigmatising thing such as sexual assault?!
Would you disbelieve your child like that?
How do attitudes like this remain in 2024?!
The idea that children often make up stories about sexual assault is simply not true.
While kids can sometimes be influenced or remember things wrong, research and previous cases show that false claims of sexual assault by children are extremely rare. Most of the time, when children talk about sexual assault, they are telling the truth. It’s important to listen to them carefully and take what they say seriously.
dido
Unreal
Why anyone would want to defend a sexual predator like this is highly suspicious and quite deplorable, to say the least.
METATTOKYO
Agreed. Just show these guys the stats:
The prevalence of false reporting on sexual assault is between 2% and 10%, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and similar organisations.
So you have to wonder why people like Guru would immediately suggest it's a false claim when false claims are very rare.
This troubling attitude, especially among young conservative men, of immediately being suspicious of girls and women who claim to be sexually assaulted due to some cultural bias they picked up online, plain old misinformation, or personal prejudices against women.
Also, high-profile cases of false accusations, though very rare, can also influence their warped perceptions. O
Or maybe they feel guilty about something they have done themselves.
Fighto!
Unfortunately, we see these comments - defending and enabling - after every story like this.
I will take the honesty and sincerity of a 10 year old girl in this situation - as have the authorities.
Garthgoyle
Because she's 10. Maybe older women would be ashame to confine a sexual thing to others, but probably less so a ten years old to her mom.
Because that's what courts are for. To tell if someone is guilty or innocent of a crime. Is not suspicious at all. There are many sick sexual predators out there. But there are also innocent people whose lives have been destroyed because they were falsely accused. Both happen.
cakehole3201
Garth, you're an intelligent guy, do a little more research because you have been a bit misled in your understanding of sexual assault and children.
As someone mentioned below, around 5% of SA claims are false, and the actual number is likely lower (read the BBC article).
Ask yourself if you are equally suspicious of false claims of other violent ( but non-sexual) assaults and crimes such as theft and arson.
The truth about false assault accusations by women (bbc.com)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45565684
Garthgoyle
@cakehole
What if the mother is lying?
Marlon Brando
At this point pretty sure this is just trolling, but for argument's sake:
Are you familiar with 'assuming good faith' and its importance in justice and society in general?
Also, consider if it were your daughter, wife or sister who was claiming sexual assault - would you automatically assume or even suggest that she is lying?
Constantly accusing sexual assault claims of being false is a bit like assuming every fire alarm is a false alarm.
Or like a referee who doubts every penalty call in a game.
Or that witnesses to crimes are usually lying.
Yes, as you said, the court is there to attempt to sort out the truth, but being automatically suspicious of false claims creates a barrier for genuine victims seeking justice.
Fighto!
Im afraid there is a reason certain men always seek to defend and put up doubt over child sex offences.
Alex
What a terribly sad story. My mother was repeatedly sexually assaulted by my grandfather when she was a child. She never told anyone (until I was an adult, and she told me). When I was 8 years old, the same grandfather molested me twice. The second time it happened, I told my mother.
There are no words for the horror of experiencing something like this as a child, and the courage it takes (despite how shameful you feel) to tell a trusted adult that it happened. Believe your children, for goodness’ sake. Maybe if my mother had felt like she could tell someone what had happened to her, my grandfather would have been put away, instead of being allowed to continue his despicable actions against innocent children.
wallace
We always start with the claims of the victim. In this article by JT, there is a serious lack of details to conclude. Did Yutaka Okada have any previous complaints against him?
Fighto!
@ Alex - thank you for your courage in telling your story. It is incredibly important to hear your story - and those of the countless other victims of this evil crime. I will never be able to comprehend the horror and trauma you or your mother experienced.
Sadly, some people will always look for ways to deny your reality - and question your honesty - as seen in this story above.
pecad28810
to conclude what?
Michael Corleone
indecent: "morally offensive, especially in a sexual way"
by denying the allegations what he is really saying is that what he did was not morally offensive.
so should he be locked away to reflect on his actions?
vote + for YES, vote - for NO
Garthgoyle
It is not trolling, at all. There are cases of men falsely being accused of crimes they didn't commit, and there are cases of people being rightly accused for things they did.
Someone asked why would anyone defend this guy and the answer is people lie all the time. Either him, or the girl or the mom, for whatever the reason might be. Your feelings in the case don't matter. Facts do and that's why we have courts systems in place. That's why there are jobs for people who investigate to find out the truth. We don't just execute people in public a la North Korea style.
So no, I am not trolling. And I am not defending him either. I'm stating facts, because as Cakehole3201 stated above, I'm an intelligent person.
falseflagsteve
Experience as a teacher eh? What a surprise. These freaks desire to get more victims is uncontrollable. So many of these incidents happening. We need harsh action taken now to prevent more victims and weed out the perverts.
Shadows of the Rising Sun
Your concern is out of proportion with reality.
Stop worrying about false sexual assault allegations. They’re extremely rare.
Treat sex crime victims’ testimony with the same credibility as victims of other crimes and reject outdated misogynistic myths.
Zaphod
Marlon Brando
Playing devils advocate here, but things like this have happened before. You might want to read up on the Satanic Panic in the US, where children told the incredible abuse stories, based influence from activist adults.
Fact is, children are the most easily manipulated members of society.
Not saying that that is the case here, but on the other hand just taking a child's statement at face value is also wrong.