TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male hospital technician over the alleged attempted rape of a woman in Adachi Ward earlier this year, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 28).
Early on April 27, Masahiro Yamazaki, a technician at a hospital run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Bunkyo Ward, is alleged to have attempted to sexually assault the woman, then 18, inside her apartment.
“I did attempt to sexually assault her, but once she said ‘leave’ I complied with her wishes,” the suspect was quoted by the Nishiarai Police Station upon his arrest on Monday.
According to police, Yamazaki was not acquainted with the victim. Prior to the incident, the suspect followed the woman over a distance of about 1 kilometer as she returned home.
“Are you fine?” he reportedly asked. “Since I am worried about you, I will escort you home.”
Yamazaki surfaced as a person of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage.
“From now, we will investigate this matter,” a representative of the hospital section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was quoted. “Based on the results of the investigation, we will deal with the matter strictly.”