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Higurashi Anthology Illustrator Dokumegu Arrested

On April 14, authorities in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kanagawa arrested Shō Meguru Ishii, an illustrator better known under the pen name Dokumegu, on suspicion of breaking local child protection laws. The 25-year-old computer programmer has drawn illustrations for at least two novel anthologies inspired by the Higurashi no Naku Koroni visual novel, but not the original Higurashi work itself. Ishii is accused of meeting with a girl in a hotel four times between last November and December. The girl was a third-year middle school student at the time, but is now a 15-year old high school freshman. Ishii has been popular among dōjinshi and game fans for his depictions of Gothic Lolita fashion. (His website was last updated on April 13 with the image to the right.) In September, Ishii is alleged to have asked a female fan, who had visited to his blog, to bring money to him to a hotel, and the girl reportedly responded with 150,000 yen (about US$1,500).

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun via Canned Dogs