Former teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture sentenced to prison for producing child pornography, injuring 49 students and others

On the 5th, the Nagoya District Court sentenced a 33-year-old former instructor at Tokai Village Junior High School in Ibaraki Prefecture to 2 years and 6 months in prison (request for 3 years and 6 months in prison) after he was accused of violating the Act Prohibiting Child Prostitution and Child Pornography for repeatedly secretly filming and providing videos of female students. Judge Mayuko Nishiwaki said, ``It undermines trust in teachers, and the consequences are serious.''

According to the ruling, between 2023 and 2025, the man installed clock-shaped cameras in the locker rooms of the schools where he worked and where he used to work, and secretly filmed female students changing clothes. They also provided a total of 98 video data to seven people, including members of a teacher's group, who had been sharing hidden images of girls they met on social media.

The ruling pointed out that he produced a total of 52 child pornography videos, with a total of 49 victims. Referring to the method of installing cameras in the changing rooms of the pools where he was in charge of managing the facilities, he criticized them as ``abusing their position, and the manner in which they did so was clever and malicious.'' He criticized the provision of videos, including some sales, saying, ``The motive is selfish, as it is for profit or to satisfy a desire for approval.'' Even considering that a settlement has been reached with some of the victims, the court determined that he cannot avoid a prison sentence.

Seven teachers from across the country participated in the teachers' group, and six of them were found guilty. The man was not a member of the group.

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Out of consideration for the victims, the names of the defendants have been anonymized in the digital version.