SAITMA (TR) – Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday announced that it has dismissed a male employee of a child welfare center following his arrest over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl who was in temporary protective custody.
The employee dismissed is 28-year-old Ryuichi Shimizu, who was employed at the Koshigaya Child Welfare Center.
According to Saitama Prefecture, Shimizu allegedly committed indecent acts against the teenage girl who was in temporary protective custody at the center on a night sometime between early and mid-December of last year.
In January, the child welfare center conducted an investigation after receiving a complaint from a colleague, but Shimizu did not admit to the crime at the time.
Subsequently, Shimizu was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and other crimes following a police investigation.
According to police questioning, Shimizu. He was subsequently indicted on March 11.
Shimizu had been working at a child welfare center since October of 2024. He was responsible for student guidance.
Also on Tuesday, the prefecture issued reprimands to three male staff members, including Shimizu’s superior, who is the director of the center.
The prefecture stated that it will “thoroughly enforce discipline to prevent any further misconduct that could lead to distrust.”
