Newark area woman sexually abused by Buddhist monk as a child at Pure Land, his North Clifton retreat near Newark, fears many more victims are yet to come forward

A woman who was sexually abused as a child by a revered Buddhist monk fears there may be many other victims yet to come forward.

The woman, just 12 at the time, said the persona that Koji Takeuchi, who calls himself Buddha Maitreya, presented to the world was far different to his sick perversions.

Buddha Maitreya, jailed last week for two years at Hove Crown Court for assaulting her, and another child, toured the country and taught meditation and yoga in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

He opened the Pure Land meditation centre and Japanese garden at his home, in Trent Lane, North Clifton where he lived.

For, Buddha Maitreya was revered by many as a spiritual man and trusted by parents who allowed him into their homes with free and unsupervised access to their children, and by school teachers who would take their classes to Pure Land to broaden their religious education.

Pure Land became a tourist attraction and a place for people to seek out his teachings and spiritual enlightenment. It regularly featured on television programmes and was visited by thousands of people each year, many who paid to see the hundreds of lanterns brighten dusk throughout the traditional Japanese garden.

The woman, from the Newark area, said she feared that because of all of that, there could many more victims of offending that is already known to have been spread several decades.

She also told the Advertiser she feared that unless the case was publicised, upon release, Takeuchi may attempt to return to Pure Land and start again as if nothing had happened.

“When I was eight, I was introduced to Maitreya by my dad who, like many of Maitreya’s ‘followers’, believed he had met a real-life guru," she said.

“My dad thought he was introducing his little girl to a spiritual leader — a Buddhist monk.

“This persona made it very easy for him to infiltrate the trust of my parents, both of whom were interested in meditation.

“It also meant that when he was admiring of me, my parents saw it as a compliment rather than a cause for concern.

“In fact, that façade of ‘Buddha’ that he strategically presented to the world was what enabled him to left alone with me when I was 12.

“When Maitreya became lascivious and molested me in my living room, I lost the sense of safety in my own home.

“I tortured myself for years with internal questions like, ‘Why didn’t I shout at him?’ ‘Why did I just freeze?’

“The reality is that I was only 12, alone in the house with Maitreya, with no one to back me up. And he was this great figure of authority, this teacher, this ‘Buddha’.

“Moreover, since he had groomed my parents so successfully, I had been led by them to understand that it was a privilege to be in his presence – that it was a privilege to have him come to our house.”

She said that, as a child, she had wanted to be a priest but Maitreya — “a Buddhist monk and a pillar of the community” — caused her to lose her belief.

She added: “All my faith seemed to die when the Buddha turned out to be just a lecherous man whose only real interest in our family was gaining access to my pre-pubescent body.

“His Japanese garden is still a local attraction which draws coaches full of children from local schools who are learning about Buddhism in their RE lessons."

The woman said that it was ironic that his same facade of exemplary behaviour in prison could have seen him paroled next month, had the new allegations involving her and the other victim not come to light.

“I have had to listen to Maitreya, the local celebrity, being revered by people during yoga classes or during chance conversations about gardens or local attractions," she said.

“It wasn’t until I read in a news article in 2020 that at least one other girl had experienced that side of the Buddhist monk prior to my ordeal in 1986 that I finally felt that I was no longer so completely isolated.

“I had never felt able to report the incident officially for fear of being dismissed as a trouble-maker or attention-seeker.

“I am so immensely grateful to that anonymous person who was brave enough to speak out about her own ordeal with Maitreya.

“It is because of her that my voice was unlocked. She courageously paved a very difficult road for Maitreya’s other victims.

"My concern is that so many schools have been to Pure Land that there must be other victims of his abuse, which would happen under the table or when the adults were out of the room.

"There could be so many. I want those people to know that it is possible to come forward. They will be safe, they will be believed and they will be supported. The police were amazing with me.

And referencing the first victim to come forward, which prompted her to contact Sussex Police with her own experiences, she said: “I’d like to end this statement by thanking her — whoever and wherever she is — for her immense act of bravery in coming forward and speaking out.”