Man acquitted of upskirting charges because of “sexual attraction to Gundam”
A man in Japan was found not guilty of taking upskirt photos of a woman, partially due to his reported sexual attraction to Gundam. The case was recently highlighted on ABEMA TV as a bizarre example of an “Ace Attorney-style” appeals court acquittal.
This unusual case was featured on a light-hearted Japanese panel show that teaches viewers about the Japanese judicial system and how to deal with court cases. According to the report, the incident occurred back in 2007, in the era of flip phones. A 24-year-old man apparently took an upskirt photo of a woman in front of him on the train station escalator. She confronted him at the time, and he confessed and apologized.
However, the case took a strange turn when it reached court. The man insisted he did not take any voyeuristic photos. Furthermore, his defense lawyer explained that the object of the defendant’s sexual attraction was not women, but Gundam.
Although the accused had his flip phone open at the time of the incident, he was apparently admiring Gundam pictures and not taking photos. No upskirt photos were found on his phone either.
The first trial found him guilty- likely because he admitted to the crime at the time of his arrest. However, his lawyer decided to appeal. Noticing the defendant’s unusual behavior, the lawyer took him to hospital, where a doctor pointed out the possibility of Asperger’s syndrome. People with Asperger’s tend to struggle with social interactions, and this was used to explain why the man had previously confessed his guilt to both the woman and police. Furthermore, a Rorschach test was conducted to assess the accused’s personality and mental state. He was shown many images, and all his responses were Pokémon.
The lawyer had previously indicated that the man was an otaku, pointing out that the titles he had borrowed from a rental store were “all anime, mostly Gundam”. Upon appeal, the court recognized that man had no sexual interest in men or women, and he was acquitted.
