Six years sought for former massage parlor operator over Thai girl case
The operator allegedly forced the girl, then 12, to do sexual acts to male customers and himself last year without confirming her age, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors have requested a six-year prison term and a ¥2 million fine for Masayuki Hosono, the former owner of a Tokyo massage parlor, who is accused of forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl to engage in sexual acts. The defense maintains Hosono's innocence. The Tokyo District Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on September 15.
At a recent hearing, prosecutors contended that Hosono, charged with violating the child welfare law, could have easily confirmed the girl's age through her passport, despite being informed by her mother that she was her 20-year-old sister. Prosecutors condemned Hosono for enabling the exploitation of children. The indictment states that Hosono allegedly compelled the girl to perform sexual acts on male customers and himself from June to August of the previous year, without verifying her age.
The defense claims the defendant is not culpable, asserting that the recruitment interview and age verification were delegated to a 39-year-old Thai woman, a former manager of the shop in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. That woman faces similar charges. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office also contemplated indicting Hosono for human trafficking, suspecting him of purchasing the girl from her mother.
However, they abandoned the idea due to the difficulty in proving that Hosono had paid the girl's mother. Thai prosecutors indicted the mother for human trafficking, alleging she had left her daughter at the massage parlour. In June, a Bangkok court sentenced her to seven years and six months in prison.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
