TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a bar host over the alleged rape of a woman in Shinjuku Ward last year, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 12).
Early on August 7, Yuji Shimaguchi, 24, took the woman, aged in her 20s to the basement of a building in the Kabukicho red-light district and is alleged to have sexually assaulted her.
Upon his arest, Shimaguchi denied the allegations. “Since I was drunk, I do not clearly recall [the matter],” the suspect was quoted.
Prior to the incident, the suspect encountered the woman as she waited by herself for her boyfriend outside a building in the district. “Are you waiting for someone?” the suspect reportedly asked. “Why don’t we exchange contact information?”
After the incident, the suspect fled the scene by taxi. The woman then reported the crime to police.
Shimaguchi surfaced as a person of interest for police after an examination of security camera footage.