Japanese exec pleads guilty to raping colleague at NYC hotel

NEW YORK – A Japanese technology executive is expected to face 7 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges he drugged and raped a co-worker in his Times Square hotel room.

A New York City judge this week rejected prosecutors’ demands that Masakatsu Yukitoshi be put away for a decade after pleading guilty Wednesday to rape and other charges.

Prosecutors say the 46-year-old Yukitoshi committed the assault last November after inviting the woman to his room under the guise of preparing for a work meeting.

They say he gave the 36-year-old woman a glass of orange juice laced with a powerful sleep aid that caused her to lose consciousness.

Police arrested Yukitoshi at Kennedy Airport on a plane bound for Los Angeles. They say he quickly confessed.