Eye Reflection in Selfie Was All Her Stalker Needed

Celebrities, and anyone else hoping not to be found by creeps on the internet, can learn from an alarming stalking case out of Japan. According to media reports, a member of the J-pop group Tenshitsukinukeniyomi was sexually assaulted at her Tokyo apartment building last month after a fan figured out where to find her by zooming in on a selfie the singer had posted. The selfie reportedly revealed the reflection of a train station or bus stop in 21-year-old Ena Matsuoka's eyes. Police say Hibiki Sato matched the image to one on Google Street View, traveled to the location, waited for Matsuoka to appear, then followed her to her apartment building, where he molested her on Sept. 1, per the BBC and CBS News.

As Matsuoka reached her apartment, Sato allegedly approached from behind, covered the singer's mouth, then dragged her to a dark corner, reports AsiaOne. Arrested Tuesday based on security camera images, the 26-year-old also admitted to studying the direction of light and even the placement of curtains in videos Matsuoka had posted from her home, in an attempt to locate it, police say. This follows similar attacks on other women within Japan's so-called idol culture, including the 2016 attack on Mayu Tomita, who was stabbed 60 times. As an expert tells the BBC, "even the tiniest details can reveal a lot of information about where a photograph is taken, and information about the individuals in the photograph," particularly if it is of high quality. (More stalker stories.)