Prosecutors drop rape case against 6 Keio University students

Nov 30, 2017 | News On Japan

Nov 30, 2017 (Japan Today) - Prosecutors in Yokohama have decided not to prosecute six male students of Tokyo's Keio University, who were accused of sexual assault after coercing a female student to consume alcohol last year.

Although the prosecutors office gave no reason for their decision, Japanese media reported Wednesday that an out-of-court settlement had been reached between the victim and the defendants.

The six students - aged 18-21 - are former members of Keio University's Advertisement Society, a group that organizes the annual Miss Keio University beauty contest each November. On Sept 2, 2016, the suspects allegedly coerced their then 18-year-old victim to become intoxicated before gang-raping her at a beach house located in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The girl filed a criminal complaint, saying she was forced to drink large amounts of alcohol, including tequila, by the group, and then sexually assaulted. Prosecutors said the group gave alcohol to other girls as well on the same night at the Hayama facility.

In October 2016, after the victim filed the criminal complaint, the university cancelled the Miss Keio beauty contest, and the Keio Advertisement Society, which had a 90-year history, was disbanded. Three of the students were suspended.

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