Current Events > Kidnapper gets reduced sentence because his teenage victim didn't try to escape.

(+) Yeah! (+)

A district court on Monday sentenced a man to nine years in prison for abducting a teenage girl and holding her captive for two years from March 2014 in eastern Japan.

The Saitama District Court determined that Kabu Terauchi, 25, was fully competent to be held criminally liable, turning down claims made by defense lawyers that he was not able to take full responsibility as he suffered from schizophrenia.

Prosecutors had demanded a 15-year prison term for Terauchi, saying although the accused showed symptoms of autism he was competent to be held criminally liable. The defendant had admitted most of his charges.

Presiding Judge Satomi Matsubara said in the ruling, "The defendant was aware of the illegality of his acts as he made attempts to prevent them from being revealed," such as by attaching a stolen number plate on the car he used to kidnap the girl.

The court also recognized that the girl was held captive for two years, dismissing the defendant's claim that he did not think the period of "monitoring" her in confinement lasted that long.

"The confinement lasted for a significantly long period of time, dealing an unimaginable blow to the victim by depriving her of precious time," the ruling said.

But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe

The ruling was originally scheduled to be handed down last August but was postponed after Terauchi identified himself as "a fairy from the forest" and made strange noises in court. According to the ruling, Terauchi abducted the girl, then a junior high school student, in a car as she was on her way home from school in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, on March 10, 2014.

Terauchi, a Chiba University student, held her captive first at his apartment in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, and later in another apartment in the capital's Nakano Ward until March 2016, causing the girl, now 17, to develop severe PTSD

On March 27, 2016, the girl managed to escape from Terauchi's apartment in Nakano Ward when she found the door unlocked and made an emergency call to police from a public phone at JR Higashi-Nakano Station.

The accused was found in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan the following day after an apparent suicide attempt by slashing his throat with a box cutter. He was arrested after being discharged from hospital.

At the first hearing of his trial in September 2016, Terauchi admitted to kidnapping the girl, but claimed that he only prevented her from fleeing for the first several weeks as he later went out while leaving her at home on her own.

In a subsequent hearing following his psychiatric evaluation, Terauchi maintained that he committed the crime following "instructions sent to my brain."

During the trial Terauchi said he was "very sorry" for the victim but when asked about why he was calling the girl an "examination subject," he said he considered the crime to be an experiment in which he felt he treated the girl as an animal, not as a human being.

The girl still suffers from flashbacks while trying to readjust to society, according to her mother. In a hearing last July, the mother said she wanted Terauchi "to stay in jail for a lifetime."

On Monday morning, around 440 people queued up in front of the court to get a ticket for 20 seats provided to observe the high-profile case.

Full Article: https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Man-gets-9-years-for-holding-girl-captive-for-2-years



80/80

Jeez...
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His mental illnesses probably contributed to it more.
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LepartialJury posted...

His mental illnesses probably contributed to it more.

Not according to the judge


But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe


The Judge says because he didn't beat her and after a few weeks left the windows unlocked it's not fair to give the kidnapper a full sentence.
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Why is there a random picture of a girl at the end?
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But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe

Of course in Japan a judge would blame the girl for not trying to escape and give the criminal a lighter setence

LepartialJury posted...

His mental illnesses probably contributed to it more.

He had the capacity to hide his actions. Autism is a spectrum and obviously this guy was high functioning enough to know it was illegal

Axiom posted...

his guy was high functioning enough to know it was illegal

This is pretty undeniable considering he used stolen liscence plates when he kidnapped her.
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Based Japan
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UnfairRepresent posted...

LepartialJury posted...

His mental illnesses probably contributed to it more.

Not according to the judge


But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe


The Judge says because he didn't beat her and after a few weeks left the windows unlocked it's not fair to give the kidnapper a full sentence.

Decisions are influenced by many factors. That could be one factor. But stuff like this
"In a subsequent hearing following his psychiatric evaluation, Terauchi maintained that he committed the crime following "instructions sent to my brain.""
"The ruling was originally scheduled to be handed down last August but was postponed after Terauchi identified himself as "a fairy from the forest" and made strange noises in court. " and "
The accused was found in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan the following day after an apparent suicide attempt by slashing his throat with a box cutter. "
clearly had a lot of influence on the decision too. I mean, why even mention it so many times if it didn't?
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@Axiom posted...

He had the capacity to hide his actions. Autism is a spectrum and obviously this guy was high functioning enough to know it was illegal

I don't see how
"In a subsequent hearing following his psychiatric evaluation, Terauchi maintained that he committed the crime following "instructions sent to my brain.""
"The ruling was originally scheduled to be handed down last August but was postponed after Terauchi identified himself as "a fairy from the forest" and made strange noises in court. " and "
The accused was found in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan the following day after an apparent suicide attempt by slashing his throat with a box cutter. "
is more culpable than
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ottawa-woman-sentenced-to-two-years-federal-prison-for-using-teens-as-sex-slaves-in-parents-basement
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https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/09/national/crime-legal/peruvian-drifter-gets-death-2015-slayings-six-saitama/

Citing Nakada Ludenas efforts to hide the bodies and wipe away blood at the crime scenes, the judge said the defendant knew his actions were criminal.

Japan not only doesn't care about mental illness it is heavily stigmatized there. The more likely case is the judge like many in Japan placed the blame on the woman

@Axiom posted...

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/09/national/crime-legal/peruvian-drifter-gets-death-2015-slayings-six-saitama/

Citing Nakada Ludenas efforts to hide the bodies and wipe away blood at the crime scenes, the judge said the defendant knew his actions were criminal.

Japan not only doesn't care about mental illness it is heavily stigmatized there. The more likely case is the judge like many in Japan placed the blame on the woman

A. Different judges, from 3 years ago.
B. The crime there is far more severe.
Either way, not sure why you're saying this is a bad thing since the majority of developed countries would give this man a reduced sentence with his circumstances (including the way he treated his victim) too. Seems like you just want to take a jab at Japan.
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The judge in that case cited he was fully competent just like this case which means mental illness wasn't a factor and he specifically mentioned the girl not escaping. I'm not sure why you refuse to accept that he gave him a lighter sentence when the article makes it clear it was because he blamed the victim

I mean it makes sense that they would reserve the full sentence for someone being held in chains or something
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@Axiom posted...

The judge in that case cited he was fully competent just like this case which means mental illness wasn't a factor and he specifically mentioned the girl not escaping. I'm not sure why you refuse to accept that he gave him a lighter sentence when the article makes it clear it was because he blamed the victim

Where does it say that?
But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe
This is how he treated his victim and would be taken in account in western courts too and has nothing to do with blaming the victim.
And the judge cited that he was competent enough to stand trial rather than given an insanity defense but that doesn't mean his mental condition didn't factor into the reduced sentence. The way the article pointed it out so many times it does seem like it played a big part.
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LepartialJury posted...

Where does it say that?

UnfairRepresent posted...

Not according to the judge

But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe

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UnfairRepresent posted...

LepartialJury posted...

Where does it say that?

UnfairRepresent posted...

Not according to the judge

But the presiding judge handed down a prison term shorter than sought by the prosecutors, saying "the physical confinement was moderate" as Terauchi left a window unlocked or went on a trip, leaving the girl at home.

"The victim's account suggested that there was no physical violence or verbal abuse and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe

LepartialJury posted...

This is how he treated his victim and would be taken in account in western courts too and has nothing to do with blaming the victim.

https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/violent_crimes/kidnapping-penalties.htm

Punishments kidnapping vary greatly by state and can include as little as a couple of years in prison, and up to life in prison. If you are charged and are guilty of a kidnapping offense, you should strive to compile mitigating factors like the consent defense described above or the absence of any threatening acts. Proving these defensive theories can result in a significant reduction in your sentence. For example, if you were charged with aggravated kidnapping in Texas, but could prove that you voluntarily released your girlfriend in a safe place, your punishment range would drop from 5-99 years to 2-20 years. The reduction in the punishment range is dramatically different.

That's why there's a difference between basic kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping. It doesn't even look like this is an aggravated kidnapping.
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UnfairRepresent posted...

The Saitama District Court

One punch to this court.
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Wherethisfeom posted...

Damn, Axiom you fell for Unfair's known clickbait.

Wut?

He's agreeing with me.
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Wherethisfeom posted...

Damn, Axiom you fell for Unfair's known clickbait.

Lol did you really get so butthurt that you brought out your other mass bumping alt. That's pathetic man

What does a mudcrab have to do with you being an alt of lepartialjury and countless others necrobumping topics. Don't get so upset when people point out Japan's flaws. Acting like a weeb isn't a good look

He says for the first several weeks of the kidnapping, he stopped her from leaving. She probably broke mentally at the time and that's why she didn't try to escape when she later could have.

Personally, I literally think death penalty would be fine for someone like this. It's someone that shouldn't be living alongside other human beings.
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Wait you think everyone is an alt who posts in there and I'm paranoid. Lmfao. I like how you actually admitted to being the necrobumper who spends his days bumping topics endlessly and in the next sentence you said I should go outside. That's pretty funny

If you want to spend your time doing that fine but don't try to bring in your alts when you get butthurt to jerk yourself off. That's just sad and pathetic

@Axiom posted...

What does a mudcrab have to do with you being an alt of lepartialjury and countless others necrobumping topics. Don't get so upset when people point out Japan's flaws. Acting like a weeb isn't a good look

What are you talking about? I don't think I've bumped a topic in over a month. Can you backup your words? Or is this like where you say the judge reduced the sentence due to blaming the victim rather than it being the standard mitigating factors in kidnapping cases that happens in developed countries regardless of gender?
Also, I've made it no secret I find Japan weird as fuck. This is just the wrong tree to bark at (which makes it sort of sketchy why you're so insistent on barking up at it)
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Haven't seen a poll this one sided not about Islam in a long time
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