KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a 43-year-old male coach of a girl’s basketball team who is suspected of molesting a player, reports TBS News (Aug. 23).
On the morning of July 15, Takayuki Yamanashi, a company employee living in Atsugi City, allegedly fondled the chest of a girl, 14, inside a toilet of a gymnasium in the town of Aikawa.
Yamanashi, who has been accused of quasi-indecent assault, denies the allegations. “I might have put my hand near her chest, but my intention was to perform a massage,” the suspect was quoted by the Atsugi Police Station.
According to police, Yamanashi coaches a middle school team in Atsugi. He has held the position for about five years, according to the Asahi Shimbun (Aug. 23).
On the day of the incident, there was a game at the gym. Prior to its start, the suspect told the girl that a massage would help her performace and directed her to a handicapped toilet that he locked after they entered.
The matter came to light after the girl told a classmate. Police are now investigating whether Yamanashi performed similar acts with other girls.