Japanese man gets 14 years for deadly tequila-fuelled rape attempt

A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for attempting to rape an intoxicated woman after forcing her to take 32 shots of tequila, which resulted in her death from acute alcohol poisoning.The Nagoya-district-court" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="44001" data-entity-type="organization">Nagoya District Court ruled 44-year-old Hiroki Itaya had intended to rape the 25-year-old woman by bringing her to a hotel. Prosecutors had sought a 16-year prison term.Itaya had pleaded not guilty, with his defence claiming he had taken the woman to the hotel to take care of her.But the court found that Itaya’s intentions were different, as he had forced the woman to drink 10 shots in the last 10 minutes they were together at the bar, after she had declined his advances to go to a hotel.According to the ruling, Itaya forced the woman to take 32 shots of tequila at a bar in Nagoya on May 7, 2023. He then brought the woman to a hotel, where he attempted to rape her, but stopped when he realised she was in a critical condition.The woman died on June 21 from hypoxic ischemic brain injury, in which oxygen flow is restricted to the brain, caused by acute alcohol poisoning.