Unbelievable Excuse of a 38-Year-Old Elementary School Teacher Who Hugged a Male Student.

Another “indecent” crime by an adult in a position to protect children has been uncovered.

On April 28, Junji Ishida, 38, who works at an elementary school in Tokyo, was arrested by the Ikebukuro Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of indecency without consent for hugging a student at the elementary school where he worked.

On March 29, during spring break, Ishida allegedly covered a boy at the school where he works and hugged him several times in a parking lot in Toshima Ward. Ishida admits that he hugged the boy, but denies that he did so for the purpose of indecency, saying, “I hugged him as a sign of gratitude and to support him.

The incident came to light in mid-April when a parent consulted with the boy and reported it to the police. When we checked the security cameras in the area, we found that Ishida ambushed the boy coming home from an outing in the vicinity of the parking lot, and that he was seen bringing the boy into the parking lot and hugging him as if covering him. The suspect Ishida had been on leave since April.

Although the number of arrests for sexual assault of children has generally leveled off over the past 10 years, the number of arrests of teachers, nursery school teachers, sports coaches, and other professionals involved with children continues to stand out. The following are just a few of the recent cases involving male children.

On April 29, Kyoto police arrested a former baton twirling coach, 40, on suspicion of indecent assault against teenage male players.

On March 21, Saitama Prefectural Police sent a former junior high school teacher (44 at the time) to a local school on suspicion of indecent assault and violation of the Child Prostitution and Pornography Law (manufacturing), etc. He is suspected of touching 10 teenage males and taking pictures of them with his smartphone while they were changing clothes or taking a bath. The man had been arrested six times for taking voyeuristic photos of several male students at bathrooms and other places he visited during school events.

In October 2011, a part-time male (25 at the time) in Nagoya City was arrested for touching a 10-year-old boy whom he tutored from April to July of the same year.

In some cases, the victim has requested that the damage not be made public in order to protect his or her privacy. It can be said that a profession such as teaching, where there is a lot of contact with children, is an environment in which problems can easily occur. In addition, it has been pointed out that pediatric sex offenses are highly repetitive. In the past, there have been cases in which teachers who had committed sex crimes in the past were working as teachers in other prefectures.

In March, the Cabinet approved the “Japanese version of DBS,” which will prevent people with a history of sex crimes from working with children, something that educators and parents have been waiting for. We hope that this will reduce the number of sexual assaults against children, even if only a little.

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