On the 16th, a child guidance center held a press conference regarding an incident in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, in which a boyfriend who lived with the mother was arrested for allegedly dousing her 5-year-old daughter in the bathtub and leaving her to die of hypothermia. The company revealed that it had been notified of suspected abuse twice, in July and September of last year, but had stopped responding as of November of last year.
Last month, Nozomi Miyamoto (5) died of hypothermia in the bathtub of her apartment in Hachinohe City, and police say she died by dousing her with water. The suspect, Ryo Sekikawa (31), was arrested on suspicion of causing bodily harm resulting in death.
In response to the incident, the Hachinohe Child Guidance Center and Aomori Prefecture held a press conference on the 16th and revealed that they had been notified of suspected abuse twice, in July and September of last year.
The Child Guidance Center attempted to interview her, but was unable to do so due to work commitments, and it was only at the end of October last year that she was able to interview Nozomi, her mother, and her boyfriend. .
The child's partner, who lives with him, said, ``I only gave him one physical kick to discipline him,'' but the staff at the child guidance center gave him verbal guidance.
It is also said that they checked the condition of Nozomi's girlfriend through her clothes, but they were unable to see any bruises on her.
The Child Guidance Center continued to communicate with the child over the phone, and decided that there was no need for ``temporary custody'' of separating the child from his/her parents, and ended the case at the end of November last year.
The prefecture plans to set up a third-party committee to examine the child guidance center's response, and Akiko Hosogoshi, director of the Hachinohe Child Guidance Center, said, ``We take the fact that the child died as a result seriously. "Sometimes I think that maybe I could have handled the situation better."