OSAKA (TR) – The Osaka High Court has upheld a life sentence handed to a 30-year-old former hospital employee who sexually assaulted 10 young girls, many of whom were waiting at home alone, reports the Asahi Shimbun (May 11).
Between 2016 and 2022, Tomoya Yanagimoto targeted girls aged 8 to 12 across Osaka Prefecture. According to the ruling, he gained access to their residences and apartment common areas by tailing them or posing as an electrical worker before carrying out the assaults.
Yanagimoto had appealed his original life sentence handed down by the Osaka District Court, arguing the punishment was too severe. During the appellate trial, his defense team sought a reduced term, highlighting that Yanagimoto had paid a total of 9.3 million yen in compensation to three of his victims since the initial ruling.
Tomoya Yanagimoto (X)
However, presiding judge Yuko Tsuboi dismissed the appeal on Monday. The high court noted that the lower court had already factored in the prospect of future financial compensation when it opted for life imprisonment, concluding that the recent payments did not justify a lighter sentence.
During the first trial, the district court condemned Yanagimoto’s systematic predation, describing his actions as “the height of depravity and viciousness” that deeply damaged the core identities of the young victims.