A man who in 2000 was released from prison for the abduction-murder of a 7-year-old boy in 1990 was sentenced to 16 years Monday for molesting 14 children in Fukuoka and Saga prefectures between 2003 and 2004.

Presiding Judge Soichi Hayashida said Haruhiko Kumamoto, 33, was "addicted" to committing sex crimes against children, adding, "the possibility of (the defendant) committing the same crime again cannot be denied."

Prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison term.

Kumamoto molested two boys and 12 girls, age 6 to 10, between May 2003 and July 2004, the court said.

Kumamoto was released from prison in December 2000 after serving 10 years for abducting and killing a 7-year-old boy in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1990 when he was 17. He had been given an indefinite prison term.

Kumamoto had admitted to the charges and his counsel had asked for leniency, claiming he is determined to rehabilitate himself.