Press "Enter" to skip to content

Ex-nursery staffer in custody over alleged rape of girl, 8, arrested in second case

TOKYO (TR) – A 28-year-old vocational school student in custody over the alleged rape of an 8-year-old girl has been further arrested in a second case, police said on Wednesday, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 10).

The second case took place at a nighttime nursery in the capital while Hidenori Yoshida was employed there part-time.

On August 22 and 28, 2019, Yoshida allegedly removed the clothes of a girl, then 4, as she slept and fondled her body.

Upon his arrest on suspicion of indecent assault on Monday, Yoshida admitted to the allegations. “I was so busy with work that I couldn’t control my sexual desire for children,” the suspect told police.

Hidenori Yoshida (Twitter)

“I’ll kill you”

Yoshida was employed on a part-time basis at the nursery between January 2019 and that October. The hours extended between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the next day. During the aforementioned crime, he was the only person on staff.

After leaving the nursery, Yoshida was employed part-time at an orphanage. Last December, police arrested the suspect for threatening an elementary school girl at the facility. “If you don’t date me, I’ll kill you,” he reportedly said. He was subsequently released without an indictment.

During the investigation, however, police found a hard disk containing videos showing the sexual abuse of many girls. One of the videos, showed the alleged sexual assault of a third girl, then 8, at the nighttime nursery.

On January 15, police arrested Yoshida over the alleged sexual assault of the third girl. He was prosecuted on suspicion of coerced intercourse on January 27.