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Prosecutors have dropped charges against a 72-year-old man who was arrested earlier this month after a 19-year-old woman who had been missing for nine months was discovered at his apartment in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture.
Prosecutors gave no reason for their decision not to proceed with the case against Kaoru Sasamoto who was arrested on May 4, Fuji TV reported Saturday. Sasamoto had denied the allegation that he kidnapped the woman, who has a mild intellectual disability, last July when she was 19.
The woman's family did not report her disappearance to police until September.
The woman, now 20, was found at Sasamoto's apartment after another building resident called police on May 3 to report that a woman could be heard crying.
In April, a neighbor reported to police about noise from Sasamoto's apartment and an officer visited there, but he was refused entry by Sasamoto, the police said.
© Japan Today/KYODO
14 Comments
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Haaa Nemui
She was abducted in July but reported missing in September? That seems a little weird.
gogogo
Weird they need to give a reason.
Michael Jackson
"Prosecutors gave no reason for their decision not to proceed with the case" means the old fart paid off of the girl and her family
Strangerland
They drop charges when they think there is no likelihood of conviction.
No, they announce when there is an out of court settlement. In this case they won't have had the evidence required.
Haaa Nemui
Yeah I actually don't believe the guy is that bad a guy. There is obviously more to this story that we won't ever hear about but it doesn't help to speculate either.
smithinjapan
gogogo: "Weird they need to give a reason."
Not really. It's called money. Obviously they reached a settlement.
gelendestrasse
Yeah, we can speculate but it's probably a matter of truth stranger than fiction.
talaraedokko
It took the family two months to report her disappearance. Obviously they didn’t care. めんどくさい. Wouldn’t be surprised it the old man knew both the girl and her parents.
Haaa Nemui
I reckon you might be right about that. Considering we haven't heard about any physical harm coming to the girl, and the two month time period... I think he might have been acting on the wishes of the girl and in some way felt he was protecting her. Maybe he was. I think the only thing he is really guilty of is being too concerned.
Strangerland
Or maybe this was in character for her. Or many any of an infinite number of other possibilities.
Omachi
I suspect that they dropped the kidnapping charge - because he didn't actually kidnap her.
DaDude
I remembered teaching a guy years ago who was in his late 60s but his gf was in high school. She had schizophrenia and was living with him. He had full support from her parents because he was supporting her financially which they couldn't. This case almost sounds similar.
Himajin
The Japanese news reports say he denied kidnapping her, and the police found no evidence she was being held against her will.
SirEdge
Not that most people would probably care, but I live in this town, and I asked my teachers what they knew. Turns out that the girl was not being properly cared for at home, despite her condition. Family situation is quite unfortunate, not enough food, basic necessities, parents aren't home. I was told that they're under the impression that it was just someone who was trying to help a neglected girl.