TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court earlier this month sentenced a former nursery school teacher to 14-year prison term for the sexual assault of seven female pupils.
On November 14, the presiding judge described the crimes of Nagumi Osada, 27, as “extremely despicable” crime that took advantage of the immaturity of the victims in handing down the ruling, reports Nippon News Network.
“He abused his position as a childcare worker and repeatedly committed crimes using children as an outlet for his desires, making his crimes particularly vicious,” the judge said.
According to the ruling, Osada sexually assaulted the seven girls at the nursery school where he worked between 2021 and last year. He was accused of non-consensual intercourse.
The prosecution pointed out that he had lured girls into the bathroom or closet while he was alone watching over the children’s naps.
In some cases, he called out to the girls under the pretense of asking where a toy was, or lured them under a piano that was out of the view of the security camera.
In addition, he filmed the crimes involving three of the girls with his smartphone.
“I gave in to my own desires. I wanted to do the same things that were shown in the child pornography videos I had,” Osada said during a hearing in September in admitting to the allegations.
“She is still suffering”
During questioning, Osada, a father of two, admitted that his behavior was wrong. The prosecution then asked, “Why didn’t you quit instead of increasing the number of victims?” Osada responded, “I felt pressured to take over my parents’ nursery school, and I couldn’t consult anyone about my sexual desires or go to the hospital, so I continued working as a nursery teacher in a helpless situation.”
At a hearing in October, the mother of one of the girls revealed what her daughter, 5, told her.
“[Osada] told my daughter, ‘You shouldn’t say anything,'” the woman said. “My daughter had a complicated expression on her face, as if she didn’t know if it was okay to talk. I still can’t get that expression out of my head. My daughter sometimes repeats ‘stop’ in her sleep. She is still suffering. I hate Osada for taking full advantage of his position as a nursery teacher and committing such despicable acts. I sincerely hope that he receives the heaviest possible punishment.”
In order to prevent the continued occurrence of sexual violence crimes against children, the government passed a new law in June. This law will allow for the creation and management of a database of information on sexual crime records. As a result, people who are found to have a record of having committed a sexual crime will be barred from working with children for 10 or 20 years. This system is intended to prevent recidivism.
Installing security cameras in nurseries and schools
As to preventing first-time offenders, professor Yoshi Suetomi of Nihon University, an expert on child policy, says training is important.
“In Japan, even at the stage of obtaining a license to be a nursery teacher or teacher, there is no training at all on how to respond if sexual violence occurs to a child,” says Suetomi. “Unless training on how to protect children, especially from sexual violence, is made compulsory for all adults involved with children, we will not be able to keep up.”
He also says that installing security cameras in nurseries and schools is also effective. “I think we will not only prevent sexual crimes but also make progress little by little in obtaining solid evidence when they occur,” Suetomi says.
Parents, too, can help.
“What I want to say to parents is that they must teach their children what sexual violence is in the first place,” Suetomi says. “We promise that (adults) will never touch children’s bottoms or genitals except when they have an accident such as pooping or peeing, so if there is an adult who breaks that promise, please tell other adults. We teach the rules from the time they understand them. Sharing them with everyone will act as a deterrent.”
