Former school principal in Japan on trial for alleged assault of student
A 57-year-old former junior high school principal in Japan is currently on trial after he allegedly assaulted one of his students.
Source: Friday
The former principal, Kitamura Hisaka, is also accused of assaulting multiple students and recording these incidents for personal use.
Kitamura was arrested after one of his victims reported the assaults to the police.
A subsequent investigation led the police to find a video camera in his office, which contained inappropriate images related to the case.
This led to his arrest in September 2023 on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
Thought it would be a ‘waste’ to delete images
Kitamura reportedly admitted that the camera belonged to him.
When asked why he kept the images, he stated: “I thought it would be a waste to delete them, so I saved them to view later.”
He also explained that he kept the camera in his office because he feared his wife might discover it if it were stored at home.
During questioning, Kitamura admitted that he had developed feelings for the victim.
“I couldn’t suppress my feelings for her,” he allegedly told the police.
Authorities discovered that the camera contained images of other female students, suggesting that there may be other victims.
Removed from position following arrest
Details of the assault emerged during arguments made in the trial on Wednesday (20 Nov).
Kitamura is accused of giving his female victim a massage without her consent.
The prosecution argued that the former principal created an environment where the victim felt she would be punished if she rejected his advances.
His defence team, however, contended that the victim did not attempt to resist his actions.
Following his arrest, Kitamura was removed from his position.
The city’s board of education also issued a public apology to the victims and their families, acknowledging the impact of the incident.
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Featured image adapted from Friday.Â
