TOKYO (TR) – Prosecutors have chosen to not indict a 37-year-old man nabbed for luring a 16-year-old runaway girl from the streets of the Kabukicho red-light district and keeping her at his home, reports Nippon News Network (May 1).
Last August, Ryuta Hashimoto, a 37-year-old employee of a hostess club, approached the girl on a street in Kabukicho and offered her a place to stay. He then kept her at his home for one month.
During questioning on suspicion of kidnapping a minor, Hashimoto reportedly confessed, “I approached her with the intention of picking her up.”
On May 1, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office announced the non-indictment of Hashimoto. “After conducting all necessary investigations and taking into account the content of the relevant evidence, we decided not to prosecute,” the office said.
The crime came to light last September when the girl was apprehended in Kabukicho. At the time, she was found to be in possession of Hashimoto’s smartphone.
AloJapan.com