TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 44-year-old taxi driver for allegedly sexually assaulting a heavily intoxicated female passenger inside her apartment, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Oct. 22).
The suspect denies the allegations of non-consensual sexual intercourse, telling investigators, “There is no doubt we had sex, but it was not forced.”
According to the Nogata Police Station, the assault is believed to have taken place between 12:30 a.m. and 12:50 a.m. on October 7 inside the victim’s apartment in Nakano Ward.
The victim, a woman in her 20s, hailed the man’s taxi in Shinjuku Ward at around 11:20 p.m. the previous night after attending a company drinking party. Security camera footage at her destination showed the driver escorting the staggering woman into her apartment building’s entrance.
The woman told police that she fell asleep shortly after getting into the taxi and has no memory of what happened until she woke up the following morning.
Upon waking on October 7, the woman felt physical discomfort. The next night, she discovered emergency contraceptive pills placed in her mailbox, along with a sticky note bearing a mobile phone number and a message that read: “If you want to meet again.”
Growing suspicious, the woman visited a hospital on October 9 before consulting with the police. Investigators subsequently traced the phone number left on the note back to the taxi driver, leading to his arrest.