HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police have arrested a former male employee of West Japan Railway over the alleged rape of an intoxicated female passenger at a station in Amagasaki Station earlier last month, reports Kyodo News (Aug. 27).
Between 1:10 a.m. and 1:55 a.m. on July 31, Shota Minaminaka, a 23-year-old resident of Sanda City, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the woman, 28, inside a waiting room inside the office at JR Tachibana Station.
The suspect was dismissed from his post on August 3, according to JR West.
Minaminaka, who has been accused of quasi-coerced intercourse, denies the allegations. “I only assisted her,” the suspect was quoted by the Amagasaki-Kita Police Station. “I did not do the act.”
At the time of the incident, Minaminaka was on duty. After the last train in service left the station, he found the woman sleeping on a bench. Security camera footage shows the suspect taking the victim to the waiting room, police said.
After the incident, the woman fled the station and sought help at a nearby convenience store, police said.
“With it being indeed regrettable that a former employee was arrested, I would like to offer an apology,” a representative of JR West was quoted. “By intensifying employee training we will endeavor to prevent a recurrence.”
