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Keio University rape suspect accused in fourth case

TOKYO (TR) – A popular male Keio University student already in custody over several sexual assault incidents has been accused in another case, reports TBS News (Nov. 27).

In the early morning hours of March 27, Yota Watanabe, a 22-year-old second-year student, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a girl, aged 19 at the time, and stolen 60,000 yen in cash from her wallet inside a residence in Shibuya Ward.

“I stripped off her clothes, but I did not have sex with her,” the suspect was quoted by police in partially denying the allegations.

The arrest is the fourth for Watanabe. Police first arrested the suspect over the alleged sexual assault of another woman, a first-year student at another university, in a stairwell of a multi-tenant building in Yokohama’s Nishi Ward in September. Upon his arrest in October, he denied the allegations, telling police he was drunk and did not remember the incident.

Yota Watanabe
Yota Watanabe (Twitter)

In another case, Watanabe and two other students of the university allegedly fondled the lower body of an intoxicated woman, aged in her 20s, inside a karaoke parlor in Shibuya on May 10. In commenting on the charges earlier this month, Watanabe said, “I do not recall [the matter].”

In 2016, Watanabe appeared in the “Mr. Keio SFC Contest,” an event whose winners are determined via online voting over a three-month period.