Kyoto police stake out school, apprehend suspected serial shoe thief

KYOTO (TR) – Kyoto Prefectural Police have arrested a 45-year-old male company employee suspected in the theft of dozens of pairs of girls’ footwear from a middle school in Maizuru City, reports Jiji Press (Dec. 4). 

At around 1:00 a.m. on December 4, police apprehended Shinichi Otsuki for allegedly trespassing onto the grounds of the middle school for the purpose of stealing footwear belonging to girls, including slippers and shoes. 

Three days later, police searched the suspect’s residence, located in Fukuchiyama City, and found 50 pairs of footwear arranged in a three-shelf plastic display case. 

“I stole them to smell them,” the suspect is quoted by the Maizuru Police Station, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 10). 

In December of both 2014 and 2015, the school experienced multiple thefts of shoes.  When Otsuki was apprehended, police were staking out the grounds of the school.