Japan: Police arrest cab driver who drugged and sexually assaulted nearly 50 women

There is shock in Japan following the arrest and prosecution of a cab driver accused of drugging and raping women for years in his work vehicle. Japanese authorities accused Satoshi Tanaka of sexually assaulting nearly 50 women.

Tanaka, now 54 years old, worked for several years as a cab driver. He allegedly abused about 50 women, whom he first drugged.

According to the Japanese press, the police discovered more than 3,000 recordings that document the sexual crimes carried out by Tanaka on his electronic devices.

The arrest came a year after the defendant, identified as Satoshi Tanaka, gave sleeping pills to a woman in her 20s while she was taking a ride in his taxi. The victim lost consciousness due to the sleeping pills, after which he took her home and sexually assaulted her. He also filmed the incident.

"The man made a woman, then in her 20s, take sleeping pills, which made her lose consciousness, took her home and committed an indecent act, which he filmed," a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP.