Team Ninja boss cleared of sexual harassment

XBox 360 News

By Stevie Smith Dec 6, 2007, 10:24 GMT

Iconic Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki has finally stepped out from the shadow cast by a sexual harassment charge lodged against him over a year ago. Itagaki was found to be innocent by the Tokyo District Court this week after parties associated with the harassment lawsuit, initially brought forth by a female co-worker, reached a settlement. Team Ninja boss cleared of sexual harassment charges. Credit: GamePro.

Team Ninja boss cleared of sexual harassment charges. Credit: GamePro.The harassment charges saw Itagaki (Dead or Alive, Tekken) accused of forcing kisses upon the plaintiff and holding her against her will on several occasions. When the now ex-Tecmo employee reported Itagaki’s conduct to managerial staff, she was instructed to settle the matter under her own motivation, which subsequently led to the lawsuit."A verdict has been handed out in the sexual harassment case that was brought against me by a former female employee of Tecmo. I have held my head high and have fought the good fight for the past year in order to clear my name and to uphold the reputations of Team Ninja and of Tecmo," commented Itagaki, while speaking to gaming site 1UP. "The former employee’s arguments were judged to have been false, and all claims that she has brought against me have been dismissed."Itagaki’s acquittal follows Tecmo’s recent rebuffing of the accusations and also criticism of the situation’s handling, which saw the leading Japanese producers say that: "The alleged sexual harassment of the former employee by Itagaki never took place, and Tecmo did not issue an unjustified notice of dismissal to the former employee."Tecmo has also insisted that an internal month-long investigation into the accusations was conducted in "the most strict and impartial manner," and revealed that the accuser’s actions were designed "to vent her frustrations over her own personal affairs, and not indicative of sexual harassment."Prior to this week’s settlement, the unnamed co-worker, Itagaki, and others within Tecmo were demoted for what the company referred to as causing "unnecessary confusion" in the workplace while also mixing their "personal affairs with their corporate responsibilities."Meanwhile, a now cleared Itagaki has expressed his desire to move on from the ordeal and return to what he does best, which is "making great games."

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