Man who held Japanese teen girl captive two years as ‘experiment’ is jailed for nine years
Court ruling was originally expected to be handed down last August but was postponed after Kabu Terauchi identified himself as ‘a fairy from the forest’ and made strange noises in court
A Japanese court on Monday sentenced a man to nine years in prison for abducting a teenage girl and holding her captive for two years.
The Saitama District Court determined that Kabu Terauchi, 25, was fully competent to be held criminally liable, turning down claims made by defence 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.
The court also recognised that Ana Saito 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.
But the 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 (during the confinement) and the prison term sought by the prosecutors is too severe,” Judge Satomi Matsubara said.
The ruling was originally expected 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.
