Anime Producer Arrested After Allegedly Kidnapping Teenage Girl

Thanks to new reports from Japan, anime fan have learned one of their own has been charged with a shocking crime. According to police, a producer with TBS Television has been arrested for taking a teenaged girl from her home.

Yo-Kyo was arrested by police from the Shizuoka Prefecture earlier this week after he allegedly kidnapped a young girl. The 30-year-old producer is staffed at TBS Television's film and anime department. Most recently, his credits included Seven Senses of the Re'Union, an on-going anime under TBS. (via ANN)

According to police reports, Yo-Kyo took the teenager from her Shizuoka home and brought her to his residence in Tokyo. The pair stayed in Shibuya from mid-August until the start of September. The girl's parents went to police to file a missing person's report in August, and police discovered the pair in Sapporo City over the weekend. According to Japanese source Jin 115, Yo-Kyo was aware of the victim's true age prior to the kidnapping, but police have yet to confirm any additional details about the suspect's motives.

Yo-Kyo was detained by police at the scene, and the unnamed victim was returned home. So far, police have not confirmed whether Yo-Kyo has confessed to any charges.

As for TBS, the studio did share a statement addressing the kidnapping. TBS confirmed Yo-Kyo joined the company in April 2015 before apologizing to the victim, their family, and everyone involved in the case. The company stressed it was investigating the matter internally, implying that Yo-Kyo has not be fired as of yet.

Anime fans have shared their shock over the arrest, but this crime is not the first one to rock the industry as of late. Most notably, the fandom was throw for a loop when the creator of Rurouni Kenshin was arrested for possessing child pornography. Nobuhiro Watsuki was detained by police after a lengthy investigation proved he had collected pornographic materials of underage victims, and he was sentenced to a hefty fine and a probationary term.

What do you make of this recent criminal case? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!