Suit over groping charge dismissed
The Tokyo District Court on Monday dismissed a damages suit filed by a man who said he was arrested and detained based on a false allegation he groped a woman on the JR Chuo Line in Tokyo.
| Mitsuo Okita speaks at a news conference Monday in Hachioji, Tokyo, after his damages suit over a case of alleged groping was dismissed by the Tokyo District Court. |
The court rejected the suit filed by Mitsuo Okita, of Kunitachi, western Tokyo, demanding about 10 million yen from the central government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the woman, whose age was not given.
Okita was held for 21 days before a decision was made not to indict him.
"The woman's testimony of what happened has detailed information and was highly credible," said Shinichiro Matsumaru, the presiding judge.
"The plaintiff's testimony is unnatural, illogical and cannot be trusted," he said. "The arrest and detention were appropriate in light of the law."
Okita plans to appeal, his lawyers said.
According to the ruling, Okita, 63, groped the woman, who was 20 years old at the time, on the night of Sept. 2, 1999, while on his way home on the JR Chuo Line. He was arrested at the scene and was accused of groping the woman by pushing his body against her, violating a Tokyo ordinance designed to prevent such acts.
During the trial, Okita told the court that as the train was approaching JR Mitaka Station he told a female college student not to talk on her cell phone.
When he got off at Kunitachi Station, the student told police he groped her -- out of spite, Okita said.
"There is only one truth," Okita told reporters after the ruling. "The truth will eventually win."
During the trial, it was also revealed that Tokyo prosecutors mistakenly disposed of Okita's records in June 2001 because they thought the documents only had to be kept for one year instead of three. Seven prosectors were punished after the incident.
Man suing for false arrest found 'guilty' in Tokyo groping case
A 63-year-old man who filed a damages lawsuit claiming he suffered stress by being falsely arrested and detained over molestation accusations failed to win support Monday, as a Tokyo court rejected his claims and ruled that he committed the crime.
The man, Mitsuo Okita, 63, was arrested and detained in 1999 on suspicion of molesting a woman on a train on the JR Chuo Line in Tokyo. However, after 21 days' detention, police dropped the case due to a lack of evidence.
Okita subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking 11 million yen in compensation from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Kunitachi Municipal Government in Tokyo and the woman who brought the molestation accusations against him, saying he had suffered mental distress by being falsely arrested and detained.
But on Monday the Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court rejected the man's demand for compensation, saying the woman's claims were credible.
"The woman's testimony was concrete and sufficiently believable," Presiding Judge Shinichiro Matsumaru said in handing down the ruling, accepting that Okita had committed the crime.
Okita plans to file an appeal against the ruling.
According to the lawsuit, Okita was arrested on the spot in September 1999, after he got off the train at Kunitachi Station on the JR Chuo Line and the woman reported him to a police officer.
Okita had cautioned the woman as she was talking on her cell phone. He claimed that this had made her angry and prompted her to bring false accusations against him. (Mainichi)
April 10, 2006
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痴漢：不起訴の男性敗訴、加害者と認定 東京地裁支部
電車内で痴漢行為をしたとして東京都迷惑防止条例違反容疑で逮捕、不起訴となった東京都国立市の沖田光男さん（６３）が「女性の虚偽の訴えで逮捕、拘置され精神的苦痛を受けた」と都や国、女性を相手に計約１１００万円の賠償を求めた民事訴訟で、東京地裁八王子支部は１０日、請求を棄却し、男性側全面敗訴の判決を言い渡した。 松丸伸一郎裁判長は「女性の供述は具体的で十分信用できる」と指摘、沖田さんを加害者と認定した。沖田さん側は控訴する方針。 訴状によると、沖田さんは９９年９月、ＪＲ中央線国立駅で下車後、女性の申告で警察官に現行犯逮捕された。２１日間の拘置後、嫌疑不十分で不起訴処分となった。沖田さんは携帯電話で話していた女性を注意。このことに腹を立てた女性が虚偽の訴えをしたと主張し、提訴していた。【苅田伸宏】