KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a 29-year-old man over the alleged abduction of a disabled girl from a shopping mall in Fujisawa City last week, reports TV Asahi (July 25).
At around 2:30 p.m. on July 20, Eiichiro Harada, of no known occupation, allegedly abducted the girl, 15, from Terrace Mall Shonan, located in the Tsujidokandai area, while she was shopping with her family.
On Wednesday night, police found the girl, who suffers from a severe mental disability, at the residence of the suspect in Yokohama City’s Konan Ward. She was unharmed, police said.
Harada, who has been accused of abducting a minor, denies the allegations. “When I first met her, I didn’t know she was 15,” the suspect was quoted by police.
The girl, who also lives in Yokohama, attends a special needs school. At around 4:00 p.m. on the day of the abduction, her family lodged a missing persons report with police.
An examination of security camera footage at the mall showed the suspect pushing a bicycle as he walked with the girl.
At the time the girl was found in the suspect’s residence, his mother and grandmother were also present, police said.