YAMAGUCHI (TR) – Yamaguchi Prefectural Police have arrested a male staff member for the City of Hikari for allegedly engaging in child prostitution last year, reports Nikkan Sports (Feb. 26).
According to the Iwakuni Police Station, Yuichi Masuoka, a 35-year-old staff member in the social health and welfare section, allegeldy made a cash payment to the girl, then 17, to engage in acts deemed obscene at a hotel on November 19 while knowing she was a minor.
“There is no doubt that I engaged in prostitution, but I did not know that [the girl] was 17 years old,” the suspect was quoted in partially admitting to the allegations.
According to police, the suspect met the girl via a membership-based social-networking service. The matter emerged after the girl consulted with police in which she cited being harmed in an unspecified way.
A disciplinary committee is planning to punish the suspect following release of results of an inquiry, the city said.
