A 44-year-old former police sergeant was sentenced Friday to 20 months in prison for sexually harassing a female traffic accident victim.
According to the Chiba District Court, Ichiro Fujimoto, formerly of the Chiba South Police Station, molested the 23-year-old woman on March 23 for two hours. He was found guilty of uttering obscene words and pulling up her skirt when he questioned her in the interrogation room.
The woman was in an accident in which her car was rear-ended by another car.
"The act was extremely vicious. He abused his power as a police officer," Judge Yasuo Shimoyama said, adding prison was inevitable to restore public trust in the force amid a spate of police scandals.
Prosecutors had demanded 21/2 years in prison.
The incident came to light after the victim's father complained to the station. Fujimoto was arrested and fired on March 24.
The National Police Agency has stepped up efforts to revamp the police system amid a public outcry over the recent misdeeds involving police in various prefectures.
On Thursday, it was learned that the Iwate prefectural force disciplined four officers for allegedly physically abusing a criminal suspect during questioning.