NAGASAKI (TR) – At time of the alleged crime, a 32-year-old man from Nagasaki City was involved in extra-marital affairs with around two dozen women. He is accused of engaging in sex with the underage daughter of one of those women.
In March, Reo Kawaguchi allegedly had oral sex and sexual intercourse without consent with the girl, then a 15-year-old middle school student, at the home of the woman.
Knowing that she was under 16 years old, Kawaguchi sneaked into the victim’s room twice, once while her mother was asleep and once while she was out.
On August 28, Kawaguchi, with a medium build, entered the Nagasaki District Court for the opening of his trial attired in a beige chinos and a navy blue t-shirt.
The defendant is accused of committing the crime of non-consensual sexual intercourse. In commenting on the allegations, he whispered from behind a breathing mask, “It’s true.” He added, “I think it was because I couldn’t control my desire.”
“Do you understand that this is unforgivable?” the judge said angrily to the defendant.
Until this summer, Kawaguchi was married. At the time of the incident, he was in a physical relationship with the victim’s mother while her husband was away on a business trip.
During the proceedings, the prosecution pointed out the maliciousness of Kawaguchi’s crime, including his telling the girl to keep quiet afterward, according to Nagasaki Broadcasting (Aug. 31).
The prosecution is seeking a five-year prison sentence for an act of depravity that not only will have a lasting impact on the victim but it is also tearing apart two families.
Affairs with between 20 and 30 women
After graduating from a vocational school, Kawaguchi began working as a caregiver and married at the age of 23. At the time of the incident, he was living with his aforementioned wife and child, but their relationship was in a poor state. He said that between and January and March alone he had engaged in affairs with between 20 and 30 women.
One of them was the mother of the victim. Kawaguchi knew from his conversations with her that the victim was a 15-year-old third-year middle school student.
Kawaguchi had stayed over at her home and waited until she was asleep before going to the victim’s room to kiss her. But after thinking he heard a noise outside he exchanged contact information with her and returned to her mother’s room.
Later, after the victim’s mother went out, he went back to her room, took off her clothes, and performed lewd acts on her. He did not use a contraceptive.
After the incident, the victim’s mother became suspicious of Line chat messages between the girl and Kawaguchi, which led to the crime being discovered. When she called Kawaguchi to question him, he said, “I didn’t force her.” He also did not apologize.
“Sexual acts without consent are a crime”
The “crime of non-consensual sexual intercourse” was a new crime established in 2023. It changed what was previously the crime of forced sexual intercourse, and clarified that sexual intercourse as a violation is conducted in a state in which it is difficult for the victim to “form, express or fulfill the intention not to consent.” In other words, “sexual acts without consent are a crime.”
If “the other person is under 16 years old,” or “the other person is between 13 and 16 years old, and the perpetrator is 5 years or older,” the crime is established even if there is consent. The statutory penalty is a definite prison sentence of 5 years or more.
This requirement was established based on psychological and psychiatric knowledge that people under 16 years old are considered to be unable to understand the meaning and consequences of sexual intercourse and therefore do not have the ability to consent, and that if the age difference is large, “an equal relationship is impossible.”
“It’s a secret”
In this case, Kawaguchi, as an adult male, was in a socially superior position and pressured the victim to keep quiet about the crime. In exchanges on the chat app Line, he wrote to her things like: “Are you behaving well?” “It’s a secret.” “Don’t let your parents find out.”
The age difference between Kawaguchi and the victim is 17 years. The victim said that she was unable to talk to anyone about what an adult man had suddenly done to her.
“My mother brought a friend over to our house. I was stripped and touched,” she told the court. “It was hard to refuse what an adult man said to me. I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone about it, even if I wanted to talk about it. But my mother noticed.”
The defendant and the victim reportedly reached a settlement of 3 million yen and agreed not to contact each other or talk about it. It was also revealed in court that it was the defendant’s parents who paid the settlement.
The father of Kawaguchi appeared in court as a character witness for the defendant. The father, who said he was “hard of hearing,” leaned forward and listened intently to the questions.
The father said that he is a sailor and lives a life of three months at sea and one month off. When his son is released, he plans to take him back to the house where he and his wife live and supervise him even if it means putting a GPS on his mobile phone. At this point in the proceedings, Kawaguchi looked down.
Lawyer: Who paid the 3 million yen settlement?
Father: We paid it with [jointly owned] money. We canceled our life insurance and paid it.
Lawyer: Do you think your son had a sexual interest in children?
Father: I don’t think so.
Lawyer: Did you notice his promiscuous relationships with women?
Father: It seems that he frequently met with girls he had communicated with on social media and matchmaking apps, so I wonder if there is something abnormal about that.
Lawyer: What would you like to tell him now?
Father: Don’t do anything stupid.
“I knew it was wrong”
Kawaguchi had already admitted to extramarital affairs with 20 to 30 women since the beginning of 2024. And when asked several times about whether he was a pedophile, he answered clearly that he was not.
So why did he hurt a middle school student?
Lawyer: Did you know that [the victim] was 15 years old?
Kawaguchi: Yes
Lawyer: Did you know that it was wrong even with consent at 15 years old?
Kawaguchi: I didn’t know the details, but I knew it was wrong to do it.
Lawyer: You knew it was a crime, but couldn’t stop?
Kawaguchi: That’s right
Lawyer: Why?
Kawaguchi: I think it has to do with the strength of my desire.
Lawyer: Why do you know why it’s wrong even with consent?
Kawaguchi: I think it’s wrong because of their age, since they can’t judge right from wrong…or think about the risks that might occur afterwards or how to respond.
The prosecution then began to grill Kawaguchi.
Prosecutor: Why didn’t you use contraception?
Kawaguchi: Because I didn’t have one.
Prosecutor: You knew about the risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, but you still did it? Didn’t you try to stop?
Kawaguchi: I did, but I couldn’t stop.
Prosecutor: Why didn’t you stop?
Kawaguchi: I think it was because I was very interested in having sex.
Prosecutor: Do you understand the purpose for restricting sex with minors under 16?
Kawaguchi: I don’t know the details, but I think they are protected by the law because they are immature.
Prosecutor: Did you feel guilty?
Kawaguchi: Yes.
Prosecutor: But you sent messages to the victim, like “Shall we do it again?”, “Suck me”, “Want to suck me?” Didn’t you?
Kawaguchi: I think my desires got the better of me.
Prosecutor: When the mother contacted you, you didn’t apologize, but instead said, “It’s okay as long as she consents.” Right?
Kawaguchi: I wanted to apologize and have her listen to me once, but it didn’t happen.
The judge and one juror then questioned Kawaguchi. They first confirmed that the defendant met the victim a total of two times. The judge then asked about consent.
Judge: If she said she didn’t want to do it, you would not have forced her?
Kawaguchi: Yes.
Judge: Did you think she could say no?
Kawaguchi: I had heard that he was shy and didn’t talk much with strangers, but I had the impression that she talked a lot with me.
Judge: Didn’t you think that she would do what you said because she was shy and quiet?
Kawaguchi: I didn’t think that way.
Judge: But you sent her Line messages, saying, “Don’t let my parents find out.” Why?
Kawaguchi: Because it’s not okay to do that, so that [her mother] wouldn’t find out.
The judge then scolded Kawaguchi. “You may have dated various women with that feeling, but what you did this time is a criminal act,” the judge said. “It’s an unethical crime! Do you understand?”
“Have you paid that money back?”
The judge then inquired about whether Kawaguchi had repaid the 3 million yen to his parents.
Judge: You borrowed a lot of money from them before, right? I won’t go into details, but have you paid that money back?
Kawaguchi: Not yet
Judge: Have you not paid it back, even a little?
Kawaguchi: There were other things I needed to pay back, so I’ve been prioritizing those.
Judge: Can you pay it back properly?
Kawaguchi: I’ll try my best.
Judge: Do you mean the effort you will put in to do that?
Kawaguchi: I’m trying to do that.
The judge then reminded Kawaguchi that the paying of the 3 million yen does not mean that he is forgiven. “Do you understand that you haven’t been forgiven? Do you understand that it’s not something that can be forgiven?” the judged asked. The defendant responded in the affirmative.
“Afraid of closed spaces”
Kawaguchi and his wife were married at the time of the incident, but they divorced in July.
The victim’s mother, who participated in the trial under the victim participation system, also made a statement behind a partition.
“My daughter was a school dropout in her second year of middle school,” mother said. “But she was accepted into the high school of her choice, and she spent her days off happily, hanging out with her friends. But after the incident, she became afraid of closed spaces and was unable to use public transportation.”
She went on to say that she quit her job in order to take her daughter to and from high school
“Our household income has dropped, making our lives difficult,” she continued. “Because the incident occurred while my husband was on a business trip outside the prefecture, a rift has developed between us as a couple because I was unable to protect my daughter, and we are currently in divorce mediation. Not only my daughter’s future, but the future of our entire family has been ruined. I hope for an appropriate punishment.”
The victim’s father said, “I will never forgive the defendant for hurting my beloved daughter. I cannot accept the reality. I cannot suppress my anger. I hope for a severe punishment.”
Sentence to be handed down this autumn
The prosecution sought a five-year prison sentence, citing the lack of extenuating circumstances in the motive. The statutory penalty for non-consensual sexual intercourse is a definite prison sentence of five years or more.
The defense lawyer asked for a suspended sentence, arguing that there was no violence and that the crimes were consensual, and therefore could not be considered serious even among non-consensual sexual intercourse.
The sentence will be handed down this autumn.
