Ex-Teacher Who Founded Child Porn Sharing Group Gets 30 Months

Nagoya, April 16 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese district court sentenced a 42-year-old former elementary school teacher in the central prefecture of Aichi to 30 months in prison on Thursday for sharing child pornography through a social media group chat he created.

During his trial at Nagoya District Court, Yuji Wada, whose former surname is Moriyama, had said that he believed there was no risk that the images would be leaked as the group consisted only of seven fellow teachers, including himself.

Judge Mayuko Nishiwaki said that abusing his position of responsibility to protect children's minds and bodies and creating a dangerous situation in which the images could spread was despicable.

"There is no room for leniency given the selfish motives, and even after considering compensation for damages, a sentence without suspension is unavoidable," the judge said.

Wada was found guilty of secretly photographing a 9-year-old girl at a fire station in Aichi during a school outing in September 2024 and shared the image in the group chat.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]