Head teacher dismissed after student reports sexual assault 25 years ago

It’s a story that has generated widespread media coverage and shock this week because it’s so rare for a sexual harassment or assault “cold case” to finally come to light. And it may set a precedent for similar cases.

On September 2, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education dismissed a 53-year-old male head teacher at a metropolitan high school in one of Tokyo’s 23 wards for engaging in sexual acts with a female student from the high school where he was employed between 22 and 25 years ago.

According to the Board of Education, the head teacher engaged in sexual acts at his home with a female student from the metropolitan high school where he worked between around November 2001 and March 2004. If our math is right, he would have been aged between 28 and 31 at the time.

The teacher has reportedly admitted to the acts and apologized. “I am deeply sorry that my actions ultimately caused harm to the victim,” he was quoted in media sources.

But how did such a case come to light finally after all these years?

Several months ago, the student made a report to the police, though we presume the statute of limitations had passed (our online research suggests 15 years for a rape and 12 years for assault) and a prosecution was unlikely.

Nonetheless, the Board of Education launched an investigation and the head teacher then took leave and a hiatus from work, citing illness.

The Board of Education has not disclosed the teacher’s name, the name of the school, or specific details of the circumstances, citing concerns that publicizing such information could lead to the identification of the victim. However, we expect it’s more like it wants to avoid consequences for the head teacher’s current school. Not identifying the teacher by name also means that his potential other victims (since it’s not inconceivable that by getting away with assault a quarter-century ago, he did it again with other students) may not be able to come forward.

Regardless, this may be the first of many such cases. The partial victory for the victim (although not prosecuted, the head teacher lost his job and position) may lead others to come forward about historical crimes involving teachers and authority figures.