TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 47-year-old man over the alleged rape of an elementary school girl he met online, reports NHK (Mar. 25).
In January, Masato Oka, a company employee, allegedly engaged in acts deemed obscene with the girl, 12, inside a love hotel in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of coerced intercourse, Oka admitted to the allegations, the Ikebukuro Police Station said.
According to police, Oka, a resident of Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, met the girl via a social-networking service (SNS). In exchanging messages, he used a photo of himself that was taken when he was around the age of 30.
Prior to the incident, the suspect arranged to meet the girl at a railway station. He then used his car to take her to the hotel.
Afterward, the girl consulted with police. Oka surfaced as a person of interest in the case after a check of the messages on the girl’s smartphone and an examination of security camera footage at the hotel.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of children nationwide who have been victimized in crimes involving the use of social media is on the rise. Last year, the figure reached 2,082, the highest on record.
