Man suspected of drugging, raping 5 women accused in sixth case

May 27, 2021 | News On Japan

May 27, 2021 (tokyoreporter.com) - A 30-year-old man in custody for allegedly drugging and raping five women has been accused in a sixth case, police have revealed, reports Nippon News Network

In 2017, Kenshiro Maruta, a former employee at Recruit Communications Co., is alleged to have sexually assaulted the sixth victim, then aged in her teens.

Prior to the incident, Maruta allegedly plied the victim with a sleeping pill mixed into a drink at a karaoke parlor in Minato Ward.

Upon his arrest on suspicion of quasi-coerced intercourse, Maruta declined to comment on the allegations, police said.

According to police, Maruta targeted college students looking for a job. On a job-seeking app, he pretended to have graduated from a famous national university.

While dining at restaurants, he then coaxed or forced the victims into consuming drinks with sleeping pills.

Police first arrested Maruta last November. An examination of his smartphone of the suspect by police showed him sexually assaulting dozens of women, police said previously.

Police also seized about 700 sleeping pills from the suspect’s residence.

Maruta has already been prosecuted in at least four of the first five cases.

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