Osaka Police Wrongly Arrest Man in Revenge Porn Case

Jiji Press

15:49 JST, July 11, 2023

OSAKA (Jiji Press) — The Osaka prefectural police department has said that it had wrongly arrested a man in his 20s who lives in the prefecture, including on suspicion of violating the revenge pornography prevention law.

The police department has apologized to the man, who was detained for a total of some 40 days before being released. The man had consistently denied the allegations against him since his arrest.

According to the Osaka police, a woman in her 20s contacted a police station in March to report that she had received threats to send sexual images of herself to her friends.

In April, the police arrested the man for alleged threats and attempted coercion, partly because a social media message the women received was sent from an account that included the man’s surname.

In May, he was rearrested for allegedly violating the revenge pornography prevention law. However, he was freed on May 23, while prosecutors suspended a decision on whether to indict him.

After a subsequent investigation found that the social media account in question did not belong to the man, senior prefectural police officials apologized to the man on Monday.

Still, the police defended the man’s arrest, saying that it was necessary to take immediate action to ensure the woman’s safety.