Osaka: Man gets life imprisonment for raping 10 elementary school girls

Tomoya Yanagimoto, 28, has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting 10 elementary school girls in the period from 2016 to 2022. Presiding Judge Hiroki Ito noted that the “mental and physical anguish of the girls is unimaginable.”

The Osaka District Court ruled that the man – a former hospital personnel – sexually assaulted the girls under the threat of killing them and at a time they had nobody to turn to for help, highlighted Japan Today in a report.

Yanagimoto has pleaded guilty to charges including forcible sexual intercourse resulting in injury. He pretended to have a mental disorder at the time of probes but the court found him mentally competent as he had been able to go about daily life.

The court’s ruling stated that Tomoya Yanagimoto meticulously planned his multiple crimes, noting the timings the girls and their family members typically returned home before breaking in. His smartphone carried images of the assaults, too.