A 24-year-old former police officer in Yoshioka, Gunma Prefecture, went on trial Thursday for attempting to kidnap a 10-year-old girl on Jan 15.
Prosecutors told the Maebashi District Court that Nobuhiro Akiyama used confidential information about the girl's family to try and lure her into getting into his car, Sankei reported.
The court heard that Akiyama, off duty at the time, approached the girl, who was with a friend, at around 4 p.m. He called her by her first name and told her that her father had been in a traffic accident and was in hospital. He then offered to drive the girl to the hospital.
However, the girl refused and Akiyama left. The two girls told their mothers what had happened and that the man who approached them looked like the police officer they had often seen on patrol in their neighborhood.
Akiyama has admitted to the charge and was quoted by police as saying, "I first met her in December. She was cute and I wanted to get to know her better."
Akiyama said he used the personal information about residents written on patrol contact cards.
Prosecutors demanded a jail term of 2 1/2 years for Akiyama.
© Japan Today
29 Comments
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Mirai Hayashi
Put this fool away for a long time. He doesn't need to be on the streets stalking our children anymore!
sandhonour
This guys is a sicko. I am happy the girl was smart enough not to get in but more importantly to tell her mum so it stops this guys from trying it on on another young girl.
Wc626
Oh, I remember the original story. Around the same time when a Firefighter was arrested for flashing a high school girl in the same prefecture.
2 1/2 year jail sentence too light? Will this Ex-Cop register as a sex-offender? (If any such legal measures exist here)
Stewart Gale
2.5 years seems pretty lenient. What safeguards will be in place to ensure he doesn't go one step further when he's released?
CrazyJoe
The ex-cop needs to be sentenced to at least 7 years in prison. A very light sentence for a serious crime.
khulifi
2.5 years are too short , after that he will do it again and again ...
Disillusioned
His sentence does seem very short. I'm wondering what he is being charged with. Attempted kidnapping should have a severe sentence. And, there is aslo the use of private information on top of that. My guess is, he is being charged for one of them.
smithinjapan
Wow, a 'former' police officer at only 24 years old. Once again it seems the criteria for becoming an officer in this country is extremely poor. And I agree that 2.5 years is extremely short, but I'm wondering what they could charge him with that would get him more time, as he never actually kidnapped the girl (thank god she and her friend were smart!). How far can the abuse of information get him on additional charges?
Frungy
It is standard to fire them when they're actually charged with anything, regardless of the outcome, in order to minimise any embarrassment for the police force.
If he's convicted (which is highly likely) he'll be unable to get a job anywhere in Japan, unless it is in the dodgy side of the construction industry where he'll be paid in cash and appear officially unemployed.
Without any attempt at rehabilitation in prisons 20 years would be too short (he's only be 44 when he got out and still be very capable of re-offending). This is really the key issue isn't it? The length of the sentence really becomes irrelevant when all they're doing is locking the person away and hoping they'll have a "road to Damascus" experience.
Some Canadian prisons run a highly effective CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) rehabilitation program for sex-offenders that has been shown to cut the re-offense rate by more than half, and has cut taxpayer spending on lengthy prison sentences and actually produce results.
Japan needs to come to grips with the issue of mental illness in this country and start treating the sick rather than just locking them away and hoping the mental illness will just magically disappear.
nath
Another dirty cop!! This is very very worrying. Only had one brush with the law here when riding on a bus which was in an accident. I got fingerprinted, interrogated and has my gaijin card checked on their computers for any crimes. Whatever you do, keep away from the cops here. Glad the little girl has the savvy to do so.
nakanoguy01
mostly likely a suspended sentence. it's a shame japan treats these offenses so lightly.
nath
Wow, you make a supposition not based in reality, then condemn the whole country based on that supposition.
Seems legit.
Knox Harrington
Fantasy vs. reality. Do Japanese men have any grasp of what's what?
Aaron Lloyd Brummett
He's both a cop... and tried to abduct and 10 year old girl. 2.5 years in prison is going to be a very long time for him.
Commodore Shmidlap (Retired)
I would say the vast majority who don't do things like this do. "Tens of millions of Japanese men did nothing wrong today and will live their entire lives without committing sex crimes" usually doesn't appear in headlines.
noypikantoku
this guy is a sicko and a shame to the J-POLICE... however I think 2.5 years is enough,every one should have chance to straighten up their messed up lives and change.
but 2.5 years plus a ban to work for police force again, a lifetime probation and a compulsory mental therapy until his counselor says he is ok.
nath
And once again we have a poster using logic and common sense on this site, instead of being hysterical like all good posters should be.
wowyz
"The two girls told their mothers what had happened and that the man who approached them looked like the police officer they had often seen on patrol in their neighborhood."
Very very good on those two girls...
nakanoguy01
@strangerland
Well seeing that he never touched the girl or harmed her physically, I doubt if he will receive a long-term sentence. Abuse of power for using her family's private info but that's it. That's my reality. What is yours?
lostrune2
Cop wish copping a feel
avigator
I am not sure how he made it to the police to begin with. He is setting a bad example for those left in the force. That could be considered attempted kidnapping of childnapping.
John-San
This cop is a pedophile. In all case study 99.9 % of pedophile do not reabilate. If They do don,t re-offend they will aways have a sick sexual desire for children. I sentence is to light. Chemical casteration should be impose on all pedophiles who are release back into society.
Wc626
Abuse of private citizens information is a GRAVE offense. This ex-cop used such "info" in an attempt to kidnap a 10 yr old child. Wonder if there's any case law, here in japan, which could shed some forecast on how long he actually could be imprisoned for.
zones2surf
She was cute??? I would be curious to know what this guy's library looked like. I wonder if it included a bunch lolita/schoolgirl uniform themed manga.
I am not going to have a go at Japan per se, because pedophiles exist in all countries. However, that said, the manga culture and the popularity of lolita / schoolgirl uniform themes in Japan certainly sexualises teenage/pre-teen girls in a way that makes what would normally be taboo thinking much less taboo.
There may be no connection here, but when someone describes a 10 year old girl as cute (I am assuming it was "kawaii" in Japanese), it is the first thing I think of.
Michael Craig
Chemical castration is NEVER a deterrent!!
Aaron Lloyd Brummett
Chemical castration has never worked because attacking kids is not sexual. Its just evil. There is no way to justify is and Chemical castration never stopped them from doing it again.
Jim McBride
a cop and a child molester i prison.....those 2.5 years are not going to be fun for this bloke
nath
Why not?