FUKUOKA (TR) – A court here last week handed down a 24-year prison term to a former karate school owner in Kitakyushu City for repeatedly sexually assaulting eight female students, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Feb. 26).
On February 26, the Kokura Branch of the Fukuoka District Court sentenced karate school owner Tetsuya Nagasue, 62, to 24 years in prison for repeatedly carrying out sexual assaults at his school and filming the acts, among other charges.
The prosecution had requested a 30-year term.
Nagasue, of Kokuraminami Ward, Kitakyushu City, was charged with non-consensual sexual intercourse and violations of the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prohibition Act.
Presiding judge Junpei Miyoshi condemned the defendant. He said, “For a long period of time, he sacrificed the personalities, dignity and feelings of many vulnerable children for his own desires, without any consideration for their dignity or feelings. He lacks the ability to respect others, and he cannot escape severe condemnation.”
“Criminal responsibility is extremely heavy”
According to the verdict, Nagasue engaged in sexual intercourse and other lewd acts on eight of his students, all under the age of 13, a total of 49 times between 2018 and 2024. He also took still photographs and videos of the acts.
The defendant admitted to the charges at trial. the defense argued that a 15-year prison sentence was appropriate, arguing that he “had the intention to atone for his sins.”
The verdict pointed out that the defendant used his strong influence as a coach to take advantage of the desires of his victims to train. The verdict criticized his “cunning and despicable tactics,” such as changing his behavior depending on the reaction of the victims to avoid detection of his crimes.
The verdict also said he habitually committed sexual acts multiple times over a long period of time, adding that he had taken more than 500 videos and images.
The verdict deemed this to be “particularly heinous even among all sexual crime cases, and his criminal responsibility is extremely heavy.”
