TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday handed a man from Hyogo Prefecture a suspended prison term over the production of child pornography featuring his daughter, reports TBS News (Nov. 8).
The judge handed the man, aged in his 40s, a two-year prison term, suspended for four years, over the photographing of his daughter, age 13 at the time, while she wore a thin and transparent swimsuit in February, 2015.
“It was a vicious crime that took advantage of the emotion of the victim,” the judge said in handing down the ruling.
In addition to the girl’s father, who was not named, police arrested Satoshi Akimoto, the 47-year-old president of picture book production company Sanctuary, photographer Senri Shiratori, 57, and one other person.
Akimoto purchased the content of the shoot from the father. The content was then packaged into DVDs that were sold over the internet in 2016 and 2017.
According to police, the nearly unclothed girl was photographed in highly suggestive poses, rendering the content child pornography.
“Income for the family”
“Between the age of 8 and 13, for five years, I was filmed,” the girl told police. “It was awful, but I endured it for income for the family.”
All four suspects admitted to the allegations upon their arrest. “I sacrificed my daughter’s childhood for making money, and for that I am sorry,” the girl’s father was quoted.
After handing down the judgment, the judge advised the defendant, “Regarding atonement to your daughter, live your entire life properly, and please treasure your family.”
