Atlet Judo Jepang Peraih Emas Olimpiade Dipenjara karena Perkosaan
Olympic Judo Gold Medallist was Jailed in Japan for Rape
Editor : Heru S Winarno
Translator : Parulian Manalu
Tokyo (B2B) - Masato Uchishiba, mantan juara Olimpiade dijatuhi hukuman penjara lima tahun di Jepang, Jumat, karena terbukti memperkosa seorang mahasiswa anggota klub judo di sebuah perguruan tinggi yang dilatihnya.
Uchishiba (34), sebelumnya dipuja sebagai pahlawan olahraga Jepang karena secara gemilang berhasil membawa pulang medali emas di Olimpiade 2004 Athena dan mempertahankan prestasi tersebut di Olimpiade Beijing 2008.
Jaksa penuntut mengatakan, insiden perkosaan tersebut terjadi pada September 2011 ketika klub judo putri dari Jurusan Kesejahteraan Sosial dan Keperawatan Universitas Kyushu berkunjung ke Tokyo.
Usai berpesta minuman keras dan karaoke, mahasiswa yang ketika itu berumur 18 atau 19 tahun itu tertidur dan terjaga karena Uchishiba berusaha memperkosanya.
"Ketika ia terbangun, ia berontak dan berkarta "apa yang kamu lakukan? Hentikan. Tapi ia (Uchisiba-red) memperbesar suara televisi dan membekap mulutnya dengan tangannya," kata jaksa penuntut seperti yang dikutip NHK.
Demi untuk menjaga etika, pihak pengadilan tidak mengungkapkan identitas mahasiswa korban perkosaan itu.
Uchisiba kemudian mengatakan bahwa ia akan mengajukan banding atas keputusan tersebut.
Keputusan pengadilan tersebut diambil setelah dunia olahraga judo di Jepang digemparkan oleh pengakuan Uchishiba bahwa ia memukuli atlet-atletnya dengan bambu saat latihan. Karena mendapat banyak protes, Uchishiba kemudian dipaksa untuk mengundurkan diri sebagai pelatih tim nasional putri.
Tokyo - Masato Uchishiba, a double Olympic judo gold medallist was sentenced to five years in prison, Friday, for the assault on a teenage member of a college judo club he was coaching.
Uchishiba, 34, was feted as a national hero after bringing home a gold medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics, an achievement he repeated at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Prosecutors said the incident occurred in September 2011, when the women's judo club from Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare had been on a visit to Tokyo.
After a night of drinking and karaoke, the teenager, whose exact age was not given but who was believed to have been 18 or 19 at the time, fell asleep in her hotel room and awoke to find Uchishiba raping her.
"When she became aware, she resisted by saying, 'What are you doing? Stop.' But he turned up the volume of the television and covered her mouth with his hand," prosecutors said, according to NHK.
The victim is not being identified publicly because of the nature of the crime.
Married Uchishiba pleaded not guilty and maintained throughout the trial that the sex with the teenage student had been consensual.
Uchishiba on Friday said in court he would appeal the decision.
The verdict comes after a torrid week for judo, in which the coach of the national women's team resigned after admitting claims that he beat his athletes with a bamboo sword were "more or less true".
