TOKYO, May 22 — Japanese police said today they arrested a former taxi driver on suspicion of drugging and raping a female passenger, with media reports saying there could be dozens more victims.
The Yomiuri Shimbun daily and Jiji Press reported that police found about 3,000 videos and images of him sexually assaulting around 50 women in his taxi or his home.
Last year, the man “got a woman, then in her 20s, to take sleeping pills which caused her to lose consciousness, took her to his home and committed an indecent act, which he filmed,” a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP.
Police arrested the 54-year-old yesterday on “suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and violation of the law on punishment of filming of sexual parts,” he added without elaborating further.
Traces of sleeping pills were detected in her hair, according to media reports.
The footage recovered on the man’s phone and other devices dated back to 2008, the reports said.
Media also said that he was arrested last October on suspicion of drugging another woman and robbing her of ¥40,000 (RM1,192).
He was later released before being taken into custody again in December for alleged indecent assault, the reports said. — AFP
* If you are experiencing sexual violence, the following hotlines offer free and confidential support: Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp 019-2615999 (24/7); All Women’s Action Society at 016-2374221/016-2284221 (9.30am-5.30pm); and Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) at 03-30008858 or SMS/WhatsApp TINA 018-9888058 (24/7)