Police in Tokyo have arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of sexually molesting a high school boy in a toilet in a train station building last month.
According to police, Akira Honma, a company employee, is accused of molesting the boy in a toilet cubicle at JR Kamata Station in Ota Ward at around 10:30 p.m. on March 26, Sankei Shimbun reported.
Police said that as the boy was about to leave the cubicle, Honma opened the door, went in and allegedly groped the boy’s lower body.
Police said Honma, who was identified from surveillance camera footage and a composite sketch made from the boy's description, has denied the charge and quoted him as saying he has no recollection of the incident.
© Japan Today
35 Comments
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Toshihiro
This is why I always look for a cubicle with a decent lock in it if I'm going to use it
Chip Star
He forgot to throw in that he was drunk. This excuse is a set, you can’t leave out the “I was drunk” part and expect it to be believed.
Fighto!
Disgusting animal. Castration and 40 years in prison.
Goodlucktoyou
Castration for second offence, 40 years for first.
sir_bentley28
Denial won't save you this time, creep-o!
Also, what was a high school boy doing outside at that time on a school night during this whole virus thing? Didn't the boy fight back?
plasticmonkey
The other go-to line is "He/She was my type."
gokai_wo_maneku
This story doesn't really add up. Everyone locks the cubicle when they go in. Everyone fights off an intruder. No mention of the intruder using force.
Fighto!
"Everyone fights off an intruder?" Even a child frozen in fear by a sick, depraved man who bursts into his cubicle? Nonsense. Many victims of sexual attackers are too scared to do anything - especially children. The story all adds up and is backed up by CCTV and the victims statement.
Aly Rustom
Not enough. He groped him with his hands. So I say cut off his hands. THAT will prevent him from further groping.
sir_bentley28
Guys....guys...relax! Its all ok because remember....
He used the ol excuse. I really think Japan should take a more stronger and firmer stance against these types of peadopliles.
Tey Dela Cruz
When you have a justice system that does not punish anyone for doing anything, don't expect this stuff to end.
Bjorn Tomention
sir_bentley28Today 09:21 am JST
Many high school kids have Juku, ( Extra Study ) etc this child may have been on their way home from any type of normal activity, regardless the child does not deserve to be molested while using the public toilet.
stormcrow
Perverts hang around public toilets. It's a disgusting fact of life. If you're a mother and you have a small boy who needs the toilet, check the toilet out first for any occupants before letting your child enter. If a man should come up to use the toilet, stop him and kindly explain that your child is inside and to please wait for a moment.
Mocheake
stormcrowToday 12:47 pm JST
Not sure I understand or agree with what you wrote. Perverts hang around a lot of places like schools, escalators and trains, but if someone (man or woman) in front of the bathroom tells me to wait and gives me your explanation, I am going to to walk right past them. If I see a woman in the men's bathroom looking around, I am going to be a bit perplexed but also tell her she is in the wrong place. If every parent or guardian tried a stunt like that, there would be a line outside of most bathrooms with many angry men waiting outside. Also, it isn't good to throw all men into the same basket and make your own rules as you go along.
I have personally confronted a suspected pervert several times and told them in Japanese to get the hell out of the bathroom and not to come back and also alerted my colleagues to what I saw: once, the guy was hanging around inside the bathroom for a very long time and he would rush up to the urinal when a child came inside. Even when I was done and had washed my hands and walked out, I noticed the guy was still hovering right near the urinals. My workplace is in a building where there are lots of adults and lots of children and I am especially vigilant in making sure the kids use the bathroom in an orderly fashion. I peeked in several times and he was leaning against the wall but as soon as a child came in, he would again rush to the urinal while looking over into the neighboring one. Watching this go on for several minutes, I debated whether to contact the building's security or the police but did not, only out of fear of not being believed and not having any concrete evidence outside of what I had seen. In retrospect, I wish I had recorded the incidents but I was in a different frame of mind at the time, being extremely angry at seeing what was happening.
There is no surefire method in preventing something like what is in the article as it seems to have happened in a split second, which more than likely caught the boy by surprise. Whether the perpetrator waited for the boy to unlock the door and forced his way in as the boy was coming out, or had some way of unlocking the door, which is different from opening it, is not clear.
stormcrow
@Mocheake
Fair enough. I didn't want to bore you with details, but I suppose it's necessary. My sister told me about how one of the bathrooms in a popular mall which is very clean and seemingly nice had a strange incident. She told me about how her friend's children had gone into that bathroom and were approached by a man with a knife who wanted her children to him a sexual favor. Luckily the children made a dash for the bathroom door and made an escape before any harm could come to them, but you can imagine the shock the boys and parents felt, especially at a very nice shopping mall. They were completely blindsided and never expected such a thing to happen at such a place. My sister, an attorney in that area, is familiar with the seedier side of life due to the research and investigations she has to conduct, and she's the one who told me that public bathrooms freaked her out as being unsafe for small children because is offered a private space for a pervert to operate from. Thus, she would inspect a public bathroom first before letting her boys go in to a men's room and stop anybody from going in while her kids were in there. She told me that the men were always respectful and waited. Maybe this isn't true everywhere, but where she lived it was a sad reality. Anyway, public bathrooms equal private spaces and that's where the danger lies (in her opinion and I can also see the logic in that).
Bugle Boy of Company B
If you're a mother and you have a small boy who needs the toilet, take him with you to the women’s toilet.
Luddite
The victim blamers are out again, this time blaming a child for being sexually assaulted.
Mocheake
@ stormcrow
While I see what you are saying, I can't see this flying in a highly-congested area, especially with people being on a tight schedule or having to go badly. When I have to go NOW, only someone with a badge can stop me. I guess she ran into a lot of nice patient men or only had a few occasions where it was necessary. As I said though, I don't like people making me look like I am guilty of something I have never even contemplated doing. Also, and this is a bit off topic, but although there aren't many cases of female perverts, just imagine a man trying that with his daughter in the women's restroom. He would more than likely be regarded as a pervert himself.
smithinjapan
"Police said Honma, who was identified from surveillance camera footage and a composite sketch made from the boy's description, has denied the charge and quoted him as saying he has no recollection of the incident."
Doh! Forgot to say he was drunk at the time. I doubt they'll buy the sudden loss of memory unless it's coupled with the tale of just having left the izakaya or an enkai.
Aavy
That's some gangsta level stuff right there.
Tom
If the camera wa not in the toilet watching the doors, then it is all hearsay, but not in Japan.
Mirai Hayashi
castration time
umbrella
Schools should teach boxing. It's a wonderful self defence and form of fighting. If this kid could box, this damn pervert would be hurting right now.
starpunk
And sexual predators know this. It's the FEAR and startling surprise they impose on children (or sometimes adults) that give them an EGO rush.
And some adult sickos do the same thing to adults.
starpunk
And now because of smartphones, some perverts and other sickos have a dirty habit of using them to take pictures of other male's organs if they're using urinals. You gotta be really careful about that.
Strangerland
After so many right wingers have freaked ouT about men who pretend to be women to sneak into ladies toilets, how are they going to deal with this one? I expect we’ll see a war on toilets soon enough.
juminRhee
For those talking about bringing the mom, you do realize this was about a high schooler, right?
Aly Rustom
Heaven help us all...
Guy Gin and tonic
“Man beaten to death for molesting boy” would be the ideal headline in an ideal world.
girl_in_tokyo
Why in the heck would he get into the bathroom in the first place? That's just dumb.
That’s going to be difficult to prove rape when he agreed to go with the man to the bathroom.
He willingly went into the bathroom and engaged in consensual sex acts. Then wakes up and regrets the whole thing and cries rape.
Perhaps the guy was being very forceful in the way he spoke with him, but, ultimately, he was not forced in, he got in on his own free will. This does not excuse this guy molesting a minor, but, junior high is certainly old enough to understand that you don't take candy--or go into a bathroom -- with strangers.
Saying that Japanese adults teach their children to trust everyone to the point they get in stranger's cars is ridiculous and unfounded.
He certainly did not deserve to get molested, but at the same time he should not have gotten into the bathroom in the first place. And stayed there? Something seems off here.
Even saying that 'the boy is dumb' is not blaming the boy. It is pointing out that his actions were foolish. They were. He either didn't know better (which means he is innocent) or he knew better and was indeed foolish, (but doesn't make him guilty of anything except being foolish). In any case, knowing exactly what transpired between the two will help educate other boys so they can avoid similar situations. The boy in question will likely need no further education.
The perp is 100% wrong to molest a teenage boy. But don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation. Someone has failed to educate him, it seems.
Kazuaki Shimazaki
girl_in_tokyoToday 08:56 am JST
Uh, I know you have taken on a Sarcasm Mode recently, but I can't tell this time if you are in that mode or not.
miss_oikawa
girl_in_tokyo
I don't think they went in together. In the article it says the boy was on his way out when the man barged **in**.
John Richardson
umbrella
'Schools should teach boxing. It's a wonderful self defence and form of fighting. If this kid could box, this damn pervert would be hurting right now.'
If only it were the 90's. You do know these days sickos will use your actions to counter attack you with legal actions.
HOstess_in_tokyo
There are websites for guys to meet at public places for such activities. But not for molesting, for gay cruising. Could it be possible the younger boy was set to meet the guy but changed his mind just before the man arrived? The man could have been unaware that the boy changed his mind. Before anyone trashes the idea, you would be surprised at how many places guys meet publicly to hide and play.
girl_in_tokyo
Kazuaki ShimazakiApr. 15 11:24 am JST
I have no idea what you are talking about. What sarcasm mode? All I'm doing is expressing the same view that many other posters here have expressed. In fact, they should be able to recognize their own comments.