OSAKA (TR) – Prosecutors have announced the non-prosecution of a 23-year-old man over the alleged fatal abuse of his former girlfriend’s son in Osaka City last year, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 18).
Last June, Takashi Toko, an employee in the construction industry, allegedly beat the boy, then 14 months old, inside her residence in Hirano Ward. The boy died the following day, police said previously.
An examination of the body of the boy revealed several bone fractures in his arms and legs. The cause of death was loss of blood due to liver damage, police said previously.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of inflicting injury resulting in injury in February, Toko, a resident of Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, denied the allegations. “I didn’t do anything,” the suspect was quoted by police.
On Monday, prosecutors with the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the non-prosecution of Toko. “[We] were unable to find sufficient evidence to prosecute,” the office said in explaining the decision.
The woman lived in the residence with the boy and her daughter. Toko began dating the woman in April, 2018. On weekends, he stayed over at the residence.
At the time of the incident, the woman was away from home. When she returned, she found the boy collapsed atop a futon. She then contacted emergency services.
Prior to his arrest, Toko said that in spite of the boy’s repeated loud crying, he never assaulted him.
