SAITAMA (TR) – Four years after completing a prison sentence for rape, the former guitarist for rock band Hysteric Blue has been accused of sexual assault, police have revealed, reports TBS News (Sept. 24).
On July 6, Naoki Nikaido, 41, came up from behind a woman, aged in her 20s, in Asaka City as she commuted home and covered up her mouth.
The suspect then allegedly shoved her to the ground in carrying out unspecified obscene acts.
However, he fled the scene after the victim screamed. She suffered light injuries that required one week to heal, police said.
On July 11, Nikaido appeared at a police station with his lawyer to surrender. He was later accused of indecent assault resulting in injury.
During the course of the investigation, police learned that Nikaido was likely drunk at the time. Prior to the incident, he visited several convenience stores to target women, according to NHK (Sept. 23).
Raped 9 women
After forming in 1997, Hysteric Blue released five albums. In 1999, the trio appeared on public broadcaster NHK’s special “Kohaku Uta Gassen” program on New Year’s Eve.
In 2004, Nikaido was first arrested for raping a woman in her 20s after following into her apartment building in Tokyo. The band announced on its web site that it was splitting up on March 4.
During the investigation, police learned that Nikaido — then using the surname Akamatsu — had raped a total of nine women in the capital.
In June 2006, a court handed Nikaido a 12-year prison term. He was released from the Yamagata Prison in 2016.
While still incarcerated in 2016, he released a memoir in which he confessed to having undergone a recidivism program that prevents a relapse in sex-related crimes.
