Tadashi Kojima: Arizona man arrested for kidnapping teen with whom he had 'sexual' chats online
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GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA: A 29-year-old Arizona man allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a 13-year-old boy he met online through a video game platform has been arrested in Nebraska. Police say Tadashi Kojima, also known as Aaron M Zeman, was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree felony kidnapping and misdemeanor resisting arrest after it was alleged that he was traveling with the missing child who was the subject of an Amber Alert.
According to a City of Grand Island Police Department arrest report obtained by Law&Crime, officers responded to a 911 complaint about a suspicious car at a Git N Split gas station in the 3300 block of Langenheder Street at about 1.56 am Wednesday, December 28. The victim's father told police that his son had exchanged "sexual and inappropriate" messages with the man through the online gaming platform Roblox for about three weeks before the alleged abduction, reports abc 4. Later, the victim apparently accepted Kojima's invitation to join a Discord conversation. The two allegedly planned for Kojima to pick up the victim from his home during these conversations.
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As Law&Crime reports, first responders stated that they made contact with the defendant and a young man while both were in a white 1998 Toyota Avalon when they arrived at the address. Officers quickly discovered that the boy had allegedly been abducted from Utah. "When officers advised [Kojima] he was going to be placed under arrest, [Kojima] tensed up and started resisting officers from placing cuffs on him," the report reads.
In an effort to find the victim, the Layton City, Utah, Police Department issued an Amber Alert earlier this week. Police said they believe the boy was traveling with an adult male stranger using the name Hunter Fox at the time. The victim met his abductor late Monday night, and the two were reportedly on their way from Utah to Arizona or Texas when the victim left his home.
Further information on Kojima's capture apparently came from LCPD Lt Travis Lyman, who mentioned a particularly alert employee at the Git N Split. "An alert gas station attendant had actually thought something looked suspicious about the car, and these people that were there at the gas station called the police, department and they responded," Lt Lyman said, according to Law&Crime. According to police, the gas station attendant said no one got out of the white Toyota Avalon as it approached one of the gas pumps at the station. The driver then allegedly turned the vehicle around and drove the wrong way down a one-way street before turning around again and driving back to the parking lot.
Kojima is now being held in custody after posting a $100,000 bond. On Monday, January 30, he is scheduled to show up in court for his preliminary hearing at Hall County Court. According to reports, the victim wasn't hurt and was afterward reunited with his family.