crime

Teacher arrested over revenge porn case involving ex-girlfriend

47 Comments

Police in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, have arrested a 37-year-old high school teacher on suspicion of threatening to circulate a compromising photo of his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend whom he used to teach.

The suspect, Yoshiaki Saito, an English teacher at Himeji Commercial High School, allegedly sent his ex-girlfriend a message via LINE on Dec 27, in which he said he would circulate the photo unless she got back with him, Sankei Shimbun reported.

This case came to light when the woman consulted police on Jan 7.

According to the high school, Saito taught English to the senior classes and did not seem to have any trouble with any of the students.

Such acts are known as "revenge porn," which has become a growing problem of the Internet age. Under a law enacted in 2014, people who distribute revenge porn -- compromising pictures or videos of former partners -- face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.

The legislation was crafted following a high-profile stalking-murder case in 2013 in Tokyo, in which a man harassed his former girlfriend by posting naked images of her online.

The law allows Internet service providers to delete suspected revenge porn images without the uploader's consent, if the images are still there two days after a complaint is made.

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47 Comments
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Having a relationship or having sex with his/her student is illegal right? He should be in jail considering the girl is a minor. 20 is the legal age in Japan. But @Speed is right, 18 is the legal age for a women to enter JAV which is really confusing despite you couldn't drink/smoke when you are below 20 which is considered a minor.

But still, having sex with his student is still a crime right? He should be locked up, and don't allow him to teach again. This kind of guys are crazy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

37? 19? Nice!

He's a hero!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

TheGodfather wrote:

No, this would be CHILD PORN because the student is technically a minor and viewed as a child under Japanese law.

Nah, pornos in Japan can have 18 year olds or older artists. (My friend told me.)

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Was this guy serious? He was lucky enough to be in a relationship with a girl almost half his age. Why couldn't he just appreciate what they had and let by-gones be by-gones?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Just for clarification, in England the age of consent is SIXTEEN and the law is generally not enforced if the people concerned are roughly the same age. For example TWO THIRTEEN YEAR OLDs would not be prosecuted.

But by the time one of them is SIXTEEN and the other is THIRTEEN it starts to get concerning and questions would be asked.

No one is England thinks that the age of consent is anything that a THIRTY-SEVEN year-old man should go anywhere near. Especially for a teacher. Even if the girl is SIXTEEN, if the man is a teacher it is ABUSE OF TRUST and he will be going to prison...

For his own safety!!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

When it comes to age of consent, 19 is not a minor.

I wondered about this. The way some people were talking on this thread, two18 year olds having sex could BOTH be arrested for child abuse.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

strangerland is right, they are confusing age of consent and age of majority. Definition of minor is in what context, drinking, voting, operating a business, joining the JSDF, working in the entertainment industry etc., the age is all different. If the min. age to work in the porn industry is 18, how could he of been in possesion of child porn?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

in Japan 19 is technically a minor

When it comes to age of consent, 19 is not a minor.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A 37 year old dating a 19 year old is illegal where I come from

That may be the case where you are from, but in Japan the laws are different, and as they say "When in Rome, Do as the Romans" or in other words, it may be legal in your home country, but if you are in Japan, then their rules apply to you and in this case, a 19 year old is considered a minor. Now the age of consent may be a different issue, and I am not sure what that age is for Japan. So technically she may be a minor by law, the sex consent laws may say something different.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

37? 19? Nice!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"The law allows Internet service providers to delete suspected revenge porn images without the uploader’s consent, if the images are still there TWO days after a complaint is made"

2 days are too long in internet time. Hardcore porno fiends will download the images in a few hours...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Lesson here is not to allow yourself to be photographed in the nude or in compromising situations...

Remember, not all pictures and videos are done with permission he could have secretly taken photos.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Yes it is, but the issue is NOT what age the girl is NOW but what age she WAS when the photo was taken. And that is what makes the photo "compromising" for the girl, but can be used as EVIDENCE against the soon to be ex-teacher.

Based on what the article doesn't say, her age was 19 when the photo was taken. Surely the article would have made a point of the age of the photo had it been otherwise. Even if the photo was taken two hours ago, it is still usable as evidence in a revenge porn case if the victim broke up with the suspect. The age of the victim at the time the photo was taken only matters if the charge had been child pornography.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"in Japan 19 is technically a minor"

Yes it is, but the issue is NOT what age the girl is NOW but what age she WAS when the photo was taken. And that is what makes the photo "compromising" for the girl, but can be used as EVIDENCE against the soon to be ex-teacher.

Well done to the girl for reporting it!!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

No, this would be CHILD PORN because the student is technically a minor and viewed as a child under Japanese law. In any other country it would be ABUSE OF TRUST for a teacher to have ANY sexual relationship with ANY student.

This 37 year-old teacher would be expected to be married with his own children. Not grooming and abusing OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN.

You're jumping to conclusions based on speculation. No evidence has been presented that this relationship wasn't consummated until after the student graduated from the teacher's school. Until such evidence DOES get presented, we can't criticize him for "having a sexual relationship with any student".

Yes, in Japan 19 is technically a minor, but let's be honest here... At 18 they are cut loose from high school and enter "the real world". At that point the burden of their lives is (or SHOULD be) shifted from their parents onto their own shoulders. They are expected to be adults almost anywhere but in Japan.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"there is plenty of porn in Japan with GIRLS under 20"

And BOYS too!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Come on love, just let me take this photo for myself... heh heh. Promise, no-one else will ever see it"

Aye right... he's probably already shared the photo with his mates.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Lesson here is not to allow yourself to be photographed in the nude or in compromising situations...

People get photographed nude all the time without incident. And now there is the revenge porn law to protect them as well - as seen by this very article. So actually I don't think your lesson is correct.

Didn't you see the news? The coming of age day was on Monday for all those just turned TWENTY YEARS OLD. Japanese law regards a person younger than that as a minor and legally referred to as a child.

Not when it comes to sexual relations. The federal law is 14 years old, but every prefecture has prefectural ordinances that bring the age up to 18, and in most prefectures the person also has to be out of school.

So no, Japanese law doesn't always regard those under 20 as minors, it depends on the topic.

If the photo was of an adult it would be "revenge porn" but the person is legally a child so it is CHILD PORN.

No, not in this case. And there is plenty of porn in Japan with girls under 20 - it's entirely legal as long as they are of age.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

"Adolescence starts with the onset of puberty before that time they are children"

Tell that to the judge!

"Read the child welfare law and the age they refer to"

I have read it. Have you?

-3 ( +0 / -2 )

No, the article is not misleading. Read the child welfare law and the age they refer too. Im not promoting porn, or what he did, but the article only says he is only charged with revenge porn.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The person is underage/minor not a child by most peoples definition.

Adolescence starts with the onset of puberty before that time they are children.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Didn't you see the news? The coming of age day was on Monday for all those just turned TWENTY YEARS OLD. Japanese law regards a person younger than that as a minor and legally referred to as a child.

So yes, possessing a distributing a "compromising" photo of a CHILD would indeed violate the law on CHILD PORN. And that, despite the misleading reporting is why this man has been arrested.

If the photo was of an adult it would be "revenge porn" but the person is legally a child so it is CHILD PORN.

Be warned!!

-3 ( +1 / -3 )

I dont watch that porn, but what are you talking about?if the age of consent and situations like this is 18, so how was he in possesion of child porn? Are you just talking or do you know? When somebody 18 goes to a soapland, according to you, the person in the room would be offending as the customer is underage? If a porn actor who is 18 is on set with somebody older, then the director distributor etc are all guilty of a whole list of crimes.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"If this guy violated the child porn law, then so are many people today working in the adult film industry in japan"

Yes, the law on the illegal possession of CHILD PORN was implemented in the summer of 2014 and the Japanese had ONE YEAR to dispose of any such material before it was properly enforced. That grace period ended last summer in 2015.

So now it is 2016, and yes, it appears that "many people today" will be going to jail...

Be warned!!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Lesson here is not to allow yourself to be photographed in the nude or in compromising situations...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Loser

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Give him the 3 years jail time he deserves if he is guilty.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Disillusioned - You come from a country that has an age of consent for dating, and/or laws limiting the differences in age of people allowed to interact as couples? How are these laws enforced?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I'm curious to know how many other students he has been dating? A 37 year old dating a 19 year old is illegal where I come from.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Mindset of the teacher before doing this: "Oh man, she broke up with me and this sucks. What would be the perfect plan to get her back? I know, I will threaten to post dirty pictures I took of her online, an act which, in addition to being a crime in itself, will also provide the world with evidence that I at the very least broke every serious workplace rule at my place of employment and at the very worst may have committed sexual offences with a minor. Brilliant! I can think of absolutely no way in which this plan will in anyway backfire on me, it is super fool-proof. All I have to do is hit the upload button and she is as good as back with me."

This is the apparent rationale of a mind charged with educating the nation's dwindling population of teenagers. Let that sink in for a moment.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@godfather No, this would be CHILD PORN because the student is technically a minor and viewed as a child under Japanese law"

Agreed, its immoral for a student to have relations with a teacher, but I dont think he violated the law as it applies to the age or the article would of mentioned it, for sure. I think the age of consent is 18 in Japan and 20 is for drinking. According to the japan child welfare law, 18 would be used in cases like this. If you look at places like soapland or magazine covers etc in stores, it will have a warning for under 18 not to enter. If this guy violated the child porn law, then so are many people today working in the adult film industry in japan. I think you got that law wrong as it applies to japan. I dont know what you mean by technically, unless you mean there is a law similar to the states where teachers cannot have sex with their students.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

How Childish-gotta have zero self-esteem to pull this nonsense!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I was referring to adult eikaiwa. Sorry if that was unclear.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

"We're adults, there is nothing immoral"

But the VICTIMS are CHILDREN. Other people's children...

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Laguna

I hear ya. But you better go easy on the arm-breaking talk. Better to think such things, and do them if you need to. But prosecutors can and will use such statements on the interwebs as evidence of violent propensities.

Just saying.

And, boy, do you got that right about what a teacher should be. When I taught eikaiwa, a fair number of fellows would sleep with their students. Which, of course, a fair number of eikaiwa students were looking for. When I expressed disapproval, they'd say "We're adults, there is nothing immoral, etc."

To which I replied: Its unprofessional and immoral. Unprofessional, b/c if you are eying your students as potential dates, you are likely favoring those students more, even though the others are paying you just as much. And that bleeds into immorality.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I'm more curious on how long they have been dating. Are we suppose to assume they started their relationship after her graduation?

C'mon Vernie. No. Not in Japan. That never happens. You might have to "retract" that statement / remarks about SCHOOL GIRL sex . . . just like the UN envoy to Japan has.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"he is being accused of revenge porn"

No, this would be CHILD PORN because the student is technically a minor and viewed as a child under Japanese law. In any other country it would be ABUSE OF TRUST for a teacher to have ANY sexual relationship with ANY student.

This 37 year-old teacher would be expected to be married with his own children. Not grooming and abusing OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN.

We don't like it!!

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Kage

Teachers are supposed to be there for their students.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"high school teacher... compromising photo of... 19-year-old"

Well done to the girl for reporting it!!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@Vernie It is rather common for relationships to "start" after a student graduates. Sometimes it means that a relationship developed whilst the student was a student but usually it just means that the relationship became more serious after graduation.

Teachers are a huge part in students lives in Japan and especially a homeroom teacher or PE teacher would spend a lot of time with their students and get to know them very well. In this case I wouldn't care if the relationship started before she graduated so long as there was no problematic behaviour whilst she was in school.

Then again, he is being accused of revenge porn. So maybe not an upstanding citizen. This kind of behaviour is despicable.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Bainiac.

There are a lot of kinky women. That said, I agree: It is a very stupid thing to do. For anyone.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

I have never understood why any woman would let a boyfriend take naked photos of her for a keepsake, especially in the digital age. Yes, I'm old-fashioned, but to me, that is not an act of love or respect. I consider such men sleazeballs. All they are doing is substituting naked photos of their girlfriends for porn.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

What a dope. I hope they fire his @ss.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Good on her. The chance of getting arrested will make creeps like him think twice about doing something similar.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I'm more curious on how long they have been dating. Are we suppose to assume they started their relationship after her graduation?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

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