TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a management-level officer, 58, over the alleged molestation of a woman on the street in Shibuya Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News (July 13).
At around 9:00 p.m. on May 29, the officer, the head of the traffic division at the Setagawa Police Station, fondled the buttocks of the woman, aged in her 20s, on a road in the ward.
The officer, who has been accused of violating a public nuisance ordinance, admits to the allegations. He was sent to prosecutors on July 13.
According to police, the officer was returning home after drinking. After the incident, the victim telephoned police. Officers from the Shibuya Police Station arriving at the scene then began questioning him on a voluntary basis.
The department is now considering taking disciplinary action against the officer, police said.
Chiba Prefecture
In Chiba Prefecture, a police officer has resigned from his post at the Matsudo Police Station after he was accused of illicit behavior with a female minor he met online, reports Nippon News Network (July 12).
On three occasions in April and May, the officer, 20, performed acts deemed obscene with the girl, a middle school student living in Tokyo, inside a room of a karaoke parlor in Kanagawa Prefecture while knowing she was a minor.
On July 2, police sent the officer to prosecutors. Ten days later, the officer was suspended from duty for a 6-month period. However, he chose to resign from his post. “I have an interest in middle school girls,” the suspect was quoted. “I lost out to my desire.”
In April, the suspect got to know the girl through a social-networking service. Thereafter, they began exchanging messages, police said.
“We will strive to restore trust by reinforcing guidance and a culture that encourages awareness on the part of staff,” said a representative of Chiba Prefectural Police was quoted.