Osaka City Assembly Vice Speaker Arrested over Molesting Girls

Osaka, Feb. 2 (Jiji Press)--Police arrested the vice speaker of the city assembly of Osakasayama in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, on Thursday for allegedly molesting four elementary school girls.

Kentaro Inoue, 54, is suspected of touching the bodies of four girls aged 10 or 11 during the sleep time at an overnight event hosted by Inoue in mid-September 2020.

Inoue has denied the charges against him, according to police sources.

Five girls and three boys participated in the event, held at an accommodation facility in the prefecture. Inoue allegedly touched the four girls' bodies after checking if they were asleep, using a smartphone light, the sources said.

Three of the four girls told their parents about the incident on their way home after the event, but the parents did not report it to the police, believing that a city assembly member would not do such a thing, the sources said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]