HIROSHIMA (TR) – A 58-year-old high-ranking police officer facing multiple charges of sexual assault against young women was found dead in a Hiroshima police station holding cell in an apparent suicide, authorities announced on February 18, 2024.
Koichi Iwamoto, a Chief Superintendent at the Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Police Bureau, was discovered unconscious inside the toilet of his solitary cell at the Hiroshima Central Police Station at around 8:20 p.m. on the 17th.
According to Hiroshima Prefectural Police, officers found Iwamoto sitting with his long underwear wrapped around his neck. He was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A note resembling a suicide letter was found at the scene.
The disgraced officer had been arrested and indicted on charges including non-consensual intercourse with multiple females in their teens and 20s whom he met through a matchmaking app. In a twist, he allegedly forced his victims to write “letters of apology” expressing remorse for engaging in prostitution.
Iwamoto had been arrested four times since last November, with his most recent arrest taking place on February 6t in connection to assaults on two additional women.
During his first hearing at the Hiroshima District Court in January, the defense argued for his innocence. “We went to a hotel, but I did not engage in sexual intercourse or force them into anything,” Iwamoto claimed at the time.
Prior to his descent into the criminal justice system, Iwamoto had been seconded from the Okayama Prefectural Police in March of last year to serve as the head of instruction at the regional police academy.
Because Iwamoto was designated as a “special caution” inmate due to a known risk of suicide.
“It is regrettable that such an incident occurred,” Katsutoshi Ono, head of the Hiroshima Prefectural Police detention management division, said in a statement. “We will conduct a thorough investigation to prevent a recurrence.”
