TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a teenage boy for allegedly confining his intellectually disabled sister in a closet, implicating the victim’s entire family in a pattern of severe domestic abuse in Machida City, reports Kyodo News (July 7).
The arrest on Monday by the First Investigation Division brings the total number of suspects to five. The girl’s parents and two other older brothers were already arrested and indicted in connection with the ongoing abuse. Investigators now believe the teenage victim was subjected to systematic torment by all five members of her own household.
On the same day, police served a fresh arrest warrant to the girl’s mother, who is in her 40s, over separate confinement charges.
According to police, the mother is accused of restraining her daughter in a blue tarp and pressing frozen plastic bottles against the girl’s bare chest over a two-day period in late December.
Meanwhile, the newly arrested teenage brother is accused of forcing the victim into a closet and locking the door from the outside approximately 20 times between late November last year and late January.
During police questioning, the teenage brother largely admitted to the allegations. The mother, however, has denied the charges against her, telling investigators, “I do not remember.”
According to investigative sources, the six-person household struggled with complex mental health and developmental issues. The mother and one of the older brothers reportedly suffer from depression, while the other two brothers have mild intellectual disabilities.
Police are continuing their investigation into the family’s daily living conditions and the full extent of the abuse inflicted upon the young girl.
