The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old man to 22 years in prison for fatally stabbing his teenage ex-girlfriend last October in a high-profile stalking case that sparked allegations of incompetence in the Mitaka Police Department.

Charles Thomas Ikenaga pleaded guilty to murdering high school student Saaya Suzuki, 18, on Oct. 8 after she rejected his pleas to resume their relationship, prosecutors said.

On Tuesday, prosecutors had demanded a life sentence for Ikenaga, saying in their closing arguments at the court's Tachikawa branch that the manner in which the young woman died, after being pursued and repeatedly stabbed, was "extremely cruel."