Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi)
OSAKA — A male care worker was arrested by Osaka Prefectural Police on June 18 on suspicion of penetrative sexual assault of two women in their 80s with dementia at an elderly nursing home.
Shinichi Yamashita, a 54-year-old man from Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, is specifically accused of sexually abusing the two residents at a group home in the prefecture during the early morning hours of May 19. The women were apparently in a state of advanced dementia that made communication difficult, and Yamashita is suspected of taking advantage of their condition.
Yamashita has denied the charges, reportedly telling police, “I engaged in sexual acts as part of caregiving to alleviate their dementia, but it did not involve intercourse.”
According to the prefectural police’s first investigative division, Yamashita had been working as a caregiver at the group home since January. He was on the night shift at the time of the incident and was in charge of eight residents including the two victims.
In early June, Yamashita reportedly told another facility staff member that “someone had messed with the women,” referring to the victims. This prompted the facility to investigate, during which suspicious behavior by Yamashita himself was uncovered.
A source close to the facility consulted the police. Yamashita’s involvement in the matter was reportedly confirmed through security camera footage and other evidence.
(Japanese original by Tomoe Saito and Nanami Otsubo, Osaka City News Department)
AloJapan.com