TOKYO (TR) – The son of former Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Katsuya Ogawa has been accused of molesting two girls while out on bail for the same crime, reports the Sankei Shimbun (July 9).
At just past 1:00 p.m. on May 13, Yosuke Ogawa, 22, allegedly grabbed hold of the chest of an elementary school girl on a road in Nerima Ward while out merrymaking with an acquaintance.
Ogawa emerged as a person of interest after an examination of security camera footage. On June 13, police arrested him for indecent assault in the first case. “I do not remember, but I think it was me since the police arrested me,” the suspect was quoted.
On May 14, Ogawa allegedly groped another elementary school girl. This month, he was accused of violating a public nuisance ordinance in that case.
Over the past nine months, police have arrested Ogawa in two other cases. In the first, he molested an elementary school girl in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture. In the second, he attempted to fondle the body of a middle school girl in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Following a trial, he was released on bail in April.
On November 2, 2017, the day of his son’s first arrest, Katsuya Ogawa, who at the time was the DP’s secretary-general in the House of Councillors, submitted his resignation from the party. “I want to apologize to the girl and her family,” the lawmaker said at a press conference at the time.
