TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former ballet instructor for allegedly molesting a middle school girl at the studio he ran in Sumida Ward last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 16).
At around 5 p.m. on December 29, Takeshi Kuratani, 49, allegedly hugged the girl and touched her body for about 30 minutes, calling it “skinship.”
Upon his arrest on suspicion of Non-consensual indecency, Kuratani told the Mukojima Police Station, “We played around and tickled each other, but I don’t recognize that I committed any obscene acts.
Prior to the incident, Kuratani and all of the students in class that day cleaned up the studio. He then sent home all of the students except the victim.
The incident came to light about four months after the crime, when the victim’s mother lodged a report woth the police.
According to police, Kuratani also stated that he had “skinship” contact with other students as well.
