AICHI (TR) – The Aichi Prefectural Board of Education on Tuesday dismissed a 30-year-old teacher following his fifth arrest for the alleged sexual abuse of a student, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 9).
Toshihiro Ota, 30, is alleged to have sexually abused a total of five girls and boys while employed as a temporary teacher at an elementary school in Chita City. Of the five victims, three are still enrolled in the school.
Police have arrested Ota five times for indecent assault since May. The most recent arrest warrant was served on Monday, when he was accused of sexually abusing a young girl.
“I have an interest in young children, and I did it to satisfy my sexual desire,” Ota was quoted.
Ota has been prosecuted in four cases. At the opening of his trial at the Okazaki branch of the Nagoya District Court on Tuesday, he admitted to the allegations.
During the hearing, the prosecutor described how the defendant lured two victims, both girls, into a toilet at the school in early May by claiming to have suffered a small injury for which he needed help. Subsequent hearings will cover the other two victims.
“I would like to issue an apology for the loss of trust,” an Aichi Prefectural Board of Education member said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Arrest in Saitama
In June of 2013, Ota was arrested for violating the anti-child pornography law while employed at an elementary school in Saitama Prefecture. In the case, he was accused of distributing images of nude children by email.
After being suspended by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education for six months, Ota resigned from his post. In November of 2014, he changed his first name from Tomohiro to Toshihiro in his family registry. He then began the teaching position in Chita in April of the following year.
“Disciplinary measures taken against him were concealed, and the city board and the prefectural board failed to catch it,” an Aichi Prefectural Board of Education member member said.
