Tokyo Olympics Worker Accused Of Raping Woman Inside Opening Ceremony Stadium

A 30-year-old university student who was employed as a part-time worker for the Tokyo Olympics was arrested Sunday after he was accused by a fellow staff member of raping her at the event’s main venue last week, according to police and local media.

The man, identified as Uzbek national Davronbek Rakhmatullaev, allegedly raped the victim Friday night, The Japan Times reported, citing the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD).

Rakhmatullaev had entered the National Stadium as staff to provide meals to the press prior to allegedly sexually assaulting the Japanese victim — who was in her 20s — at seats and one of the venue's aisles at around 9 p.m., a report by Kyodo News said, citing police.

They had never met before the incident, police said.

The two had gotten to know each other after they watched a rehearsal of the Olympics opening ceremony held at the stadium Friday, local media reported. Authorities learned of the alleged attack after the woman reported it to police Saturday.

Rakhmatullaev has denied the allegations and told investigators that the woman did not refuse his advances, public broadcaster NHK reported. The TMPD is investigating the case, an earlier report said.

According to police, Rakhmatullaev entered Japan in 2014 and is currently on a leave of absence from a university in Aichi Prefecture. He was believed to have stayed at a hotel in Tokyo to go to work at the stadium.

Rakhmatullaev's Sunday arrest coincided with officials' revelation that two athletes had become the first to test positive for COVID-19 in the Tokyo Olympic Village.

South African footballers Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, as well as video analyst Mario Masha, were in isolation after testing positive for the virus.

The games will be held largely behind closed doors after fans were banned from most Olympic events as rising coronavirus cases prompted Tokyo to enter a state of emergency.