TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 43-year-old middle school teacher for allegedly abducting a girl he met online and bringing her to two hotels last year, reports NHK (Feb. 3).
At the end of July, Yasuhiro Funayama, who teaches at a public school in Nakano Ward, lured the girl, a middle school student, out to two hotels, including one in Katsushika Ward, after meeting her on a social-networking service.
“If you stay at a hotel, I’ll pay you,” the suspect reportedly wrote.
Police have accused Funayama of keeping the girl at one of the hotels for five hours. He also allegedly ordered her to delete the online exchange he had with her.
“We will work to prevent a recurrence”
The girl was missing for two days. “I’m going shopping,” she reportedly said before leaving home. Police launched an investigation after her parents lodged a missing persons report.
An examination of security camera footage by police led them to Funayama. The girl was unharmed in the incident, police said.
A representative of the Nakano Ward Board of Education said, “Causing a significant loss of trust in the educational system and serious harm to children, parents and local residents is highly regrettable, and for that we offer a deep apology. In the future, we will work to prevent a recurrence and restore trust.”
