WAKAYAMA (TR) – For one 55-year-old man living in Wakayama City, his fetish for school girl-related items proved to be his undoing — again.
At about 9:30 p.m. on June 15, Tamio Ueda, an office worker, allegedly broke into a public high school in the city and stole a sailor-style school uniform for girls.
Unabashed, Ueda then put on the uniform. But that’s just the beginning, reports evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (June 19).
He remained on the premises for several hours. Then, at sometime after 2:00 a.m. the next day, he entered a school restroom and encountered a man in his 30s.
After the second man apprehended Ueda, he called police. Upon his arrest, the suspect admitted to allegations of theft and trespassing.
Made a run for it
Before the apprehension, the second man entered an open school gate in search of place to rest after feeling ill while walking by outside.
When he rushed into the bathroom, he encountered Ueda, dressed in the sailor suit, according to Gendai.
Ueda then made a run for it, dashing out of the restroom. The second man gave chase. By the time he located the suspect, he had changed out of the suit and into his original shirt and slacks.
“The man who made the call also trespassed, but we will handle that after hearing from the school,” an investigator tells the paper.
Fetish
The arrest is not the first for Ueda, who seems to also have a fetish for gym clothes. In 2010, police accused him of breaking into the same school five times.
During the capers carried out between 2005 and 2009, he stole 11 items, including gym clothes (both tops and bottoms) and yearbooks. At the time, he was the deputy sales manager at a bank.
“The gym clothes included short-sleeved shirts and shorts,” a person familiar with the case tells Gendai. “They were used by school girls in physical education classes, and they were kept in carry bags that hung off the side of desks.”
The source went on to say that the empty bags, mysteriously, returned to the desks several months after the thefts.
“Maybe he enjoyed wearing them like the sailor suit,” the source surmises.
A court later handed Ueda a three-year prison term, suspended for four years.
“At that time, the court pointed out the possibility [of Ueda] suffering a relapse.” the source says.