Yoshitomo Kaneda, a talent agent and actor who has appeared in Letters From Iwojima, Collateral and ER, was convicted of six counts of sexual abuse for molesting a 16-year-old aspiring performer he had taken under his wing, the L.A. City Attorney's office said today.

When charges were announced against Kaneda in spring, prosecutors stated that he molested and “abused” her while conducting Japanese language lessons in his apartment. He …

… sexually abused an aspiring model, who was attending his acting/modeling school, after taking her to his apartment to teach her Japanese. At his apartment, Mr. Kaneda allegedly gave the victim a massage and sexually molested her. Following the alleged incident, Mr. Kaneda allegedly left several incriminating voice messages on the voice mails of both the mother and manager of the victim.

Today the office said that Kaneda admitted to the abuse:

Following the incident, Kaneda left several apologetic messages on the mother's voice mail which assisted in securing his conviction.

Authorities said it happened on Feb. 22 of last year.

They say the 45-year-old had an acting and modeling “school” at his apartment. Kaneda also stated on his website that he teaches karate.

He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and must now register as a sex offender, prosecutors said. He also is forbidden from contacting the victim.

His charges included “sexual battery, child molestation, penetration with a foreign object, false imprisonment, and witness intimidation,” according to the City Attorney's office.

L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich:

We will not tolerate criminals who use the lure of fame and fortune under a cloak of trust to prey upon the innocence of young women. Children and young people must be protected from such predators who, seek out some of the most vulnerable among us.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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