KANAGAWA (TR) – The Yokohama District Court on Thursday sentenced a former professional baseball player to 16 years in prison for sexually assaulting 10 young women, reports Nippon News Network (Oct. 22).
Hayato Mishima, who previously played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, was found guilty of multiple charges, including non-consensual sexual intercourse and non-consensual indecency resulting in injury.
The serial attacks took place in Yokohama City between 2020 and June of last year, targeting unacquainted women in their teens and 20s.
In handing down the 16-year term, the presiding judge condemned the random and predatory nature of the crimes. “The attacks were directed at young women he did not know who just happened to be passing by, and his motives were driven purely by selfish desires,” the court stated.
The ruling also severely criticized the defendant’s criminal history, noting that Mishima had previously served time behind bars for similar sex offenses.
“He has repeated the same type of crimes without being rehabilitated, and there is no sense that he possesses any conscience regarding his guilt,” the judge added.
In 2009, Mishima joined SoftBank as a developmental draft pick. At the time, the catcher used the surname Doue. Three years later, he arrested and indicted on charges of indecent assault while he was still an active player. He was subsequently handed a prison sentence.