FUKUOKA (TR) – The Fukuoka District Court Kokura Branch last month sentenced a 26-year-old auto factory worker to six years in prison for the statutory rape of a middle school girl who subsequently gave birth to his children twice, reports TBS News (July 29).
On June 9, presiding judge Hitomi Takebayashi handed down the sentence to Yuki Eguchi, severely condemning him for exploiting the psychological immaturity of a minor.
According to the court, Eguchi met the girl, then 14, via TikTok. At the time, he concealed the fact that he already had a wife and three children living in Aichi Prefecture.
In a bizarre twist, Eguchi convinced the girl’s parents to allow him to move into their family home in Fukuoka Prefecture. Despite making a direct promise to the girl’s mother that he would refrain from sexual relations until the girl reached adulthood, Eguchi broke his word.
Without using contraception, he engaged in sexual intercourse with the 14-year-old in mid-August 2023, resulting in her first pregnancy and the eventual birth of a child.
Deception did not end
After Eguchi’s secret wife and children were discovered, the girl’s parents kicked him out of the house. However, the deception did not end there.
Taking advantage of the young girl’s lingering attachment to him, Eguchi had sex with her again in early September 2024, when she was 15. The court noted that Eguchi failed to use contraception a second time, despite being fully aware of the physical and mental toll the first pregnancy had taken on the victim.
Eguchi offered no medical or emotional support during the second pregnancy, nor did he encourage her to consult her parents. Tragically, the girl was forced to give birth to the second child entirely alone at her home.
Defense’s bid for leniency
During the trial, Eguchi’s defense team made an audacious bid for leniency, arguing that he was unaware of Japan’s revised penal code—which outlaws sexual intercourse with minors between 13 and 15 years old by perpetrators who are five or more years older.
Judge Takebayashi quickly shot down the argument. “Sex with a minor has been subject to punishment under local ordinances for over 30 years and it is now social common sense that it constitutes a crime,” the judge stated. “There is no reason to believe the defendant lacked an awareness of its illegality.”
In delivering the verdict, the judge stated, “He initially deceived her by pretending he had no wife or children, and even after his family was discovered, he took advantage of her feelings, repeatedly violating her sexual freedom.”
Prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison term. The court ultimately settled on six years, factoring in Eguchi’s admission of guilt and his lack of a prior criminal record.
