KUMAMOTO (TR) – Police in Kumamoto City have arrested a 42-year-old professional basketball player after he allegedly groped a female bar employee and stole her underwear, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 27).
Gary Hamilton Kodera, a player for the Kagawa Five Arrows, is accused of kissing a woman in her 20s and fondling her breasts at a local bar at around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday. He is also suspected of making off with an item of her underwear.
According to police, Kodera had been drinking alone at the establishment since midnight. At the time of the alleged assault, he and the female employee were the only two people inside the bar.
The incident came to light after a friend of the victim called emergency services, telling dispatchers, “My friend was sexually assaulted by a pro basketball player.”
Upon his arrest on suspicion of nonconsensual indecency and theft, Kodera partially denied the allegations, offering a bizarre explanation to investigators regarding the theft charge.
“Everything I did with her was consensual,” Kodera told police. “I put the underwear in my bag, but I didn’t steal it.”
The arrest comes at a disastrous time for Kodera’s team. The Kagawa Five Arrows were scheduled to play two critical season-opening games against the Kumamoto Volters in Kumamoto City on the 26th and 27th.
Naoto Ikooka, a representative for the Five Arrows, issued a swift public apology regarding the scandal.
“First of all, to the people of Kumamoto Prefecture and the Kumamoto Volters, I want to sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart that something like this has happened ahead of such an important opening game,” Ikooka said.
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
