39-year-old man followed a young woman and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him by threatening her with a knife.

It was around midnight. A man wearing glasses followed a young woman walking at night. When the woman passed through the entrance of her auto-locking apartment, the man quickly moved inside. When she got off the elevator and entered her room, the man twisted her body just before the door closed.

On July 22, Yusuke Nitta, 39, a company employee in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation Division 1 on suspicion of forced sexual intercourse and violation of the Firearms Control Law. The two had never met. The suspect’s M.O. is despicable.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 7. Mr. Nitta found Ms. A returning home from the nearest station looking tired, and followed her. When Ms. A entered the apartment, Nitta, who was right behind her, also entered the room before the door was closed. The suspect pointed a folding knife at the startled Ms. A and threatened her, saying, “Don’t make a fuss! Don’t make a fuss!　If you scream, you will get hurt.

The suspect repeatedly committed indecent acts on Ms. A, who was unable to move due to fear. After the incident, Ms. A, after much distress, filed a damage report with the police. The suspect was found to have committed the crime based on security camera footage.

Wandering around looking for a woman of his choice

At first, Nitta denied the charges, saying that he was just drunk and had sexual intercourse with a woman. However, when a number of physical evidence came to light, he changed his statement to “I am sure that I did it. He admitted to the crime.

Nitta wandered around the residential area late at night looking for a woman he liked. The crime was premeditated, including the preparation of a knife. The police are believed to be investigating other crimes as well.

Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains the background of the case and crime prevention measures.

The crude nature of the crime makes it highly likely that the suspect has other crimes. Criminals in obscenity cases usually check the target woman’s room and ambush her in a blind spot. If he enters the entrance or elevator with the victim, as the suspect did in this case, he will be seen by security cameras. Perhaps the suspect was able to satisfy his desires in the past, even with miscellaneous tricks, and so he committed the same crime this time.

There are several measures to prevent crime. First, when walking at night, do not “walk while listening to music on your smartphone. In many cases, people are so focused on their smartphones that they do not notice that they are being followed. If you are met by a stranger at the entrance or in the elevator, and the stranger heads for the same floor, tell the stranger that you have forgotten something and go outside. If the stranger comes to the front of your room, you are at the mercy of the criminal.

Even if you are not a young woman, be careful at night. If you return home late at night, take a cab if possible, even if it is a short distance. Middle-aged and older people can be victims of purse-snatching on dark, deserted streets. Carrying a security buzzer may also be effective. Recently, some smartphones are equipped with a crime prevention function, so we recommend that you make use of them.

After work, people tend to relax on their way home. We must not forget that the criminals are targeting such a gap in our minds.