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Kyoto cops: Man abducts girls, 10, keeps them at home for 2 hours

The Fushimi Police Station
The Fushimi Police Station (Sankei Shimbun)

KYOTO (TR) – A man known among neighborhood kids as “uncle dog” was arrested for abducting two 10-year-old girls and keeping them in his home in Kyoto for over two hours, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Sunday (August 7).

Kyoto Prefectural Police arrested Zenshi Hosokawa, 41, of Kogaishiharacho, Fushimi Ward, for allegedly kidnapping two 10-year-old girls in fourth grade and holding them for 2.5 hours in his home before releasing them uninjured on June 19.

Hosokawa admitted to the charges, telling officers from the Fushimi Police Station he “liked elementary school girls.”

Hosokawa allegedly lured the victims to his car at a park in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, by asking them, “Wanna come to my house to play with dogs?” before abducting them and taking them to his residence about eight kilometers away, Fushimi Station Police said.

The suspect drove the children back to the park about 2.5 hours later and released them unharmed, the Sankei Shimbun reported.

Neighbors tipped off police in July, prompting them to open a case.

Hosokawa was often seen taking his three small dogs for walks in the neighborhood, earning him the nickname “uncle dog” among kids, the Sankei reported.

“He roams around for an hour or two on Sunday mornings,” a person who saw Hosokawa numerous times told Kansai Telecasting Corporation.

“Whenever there’s a couple girls around elementary school age, he would bring his dogs over — that’s his method.”

Netizens were split over the suspect’s alleged crime – some argued he was probably just showing the girls his dogs, while others pointed out his statement to police is proof the “stranger danger” concept does not always hold true.