OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday announced the arrest of a late-shift taxi driver from Joto Ward for allegedly raping a number of intoxicated female passengers, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Feb. 28).
At approximately 4:45 a.m. on February 14, Fumio Kimura, 56, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a drunken 19-year-old female in the backseat of his vehicle after he had picked her up on a road in Chuo Ward.
“I fondled her breasts and rear end but I did not rape her,” Kimura is quoted by police.
Footage retrieved from a dashboard camera revealed showed the victim failing to resist Kimura as he removed her clothing. Two hours after the incident, the woman notified police and provided the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle, which she had memorized.
According to Nippon News Network (Feb. 28), police have accused Kimura of the same crime in three similar incidents that have taken place since June of last year.
Police are now investigating whether Kimura chose to work late night shifts in order to target drunken women.