The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday sentenced a former elementary school teacher to three years in prison on sexual abuse and child pornography charges.
Akira Hashimoto, a 45-year-old resident of Tachikawa, in western Tokyo, sexually abused an 11-year-old boy at a condominium in Shizuoka Prefecture and took videos of naked boys at a public bathing facility in Tokyo between January and May last year, according to the ruling.
Hashimoto was one of six people convicted of sexual abuse crimes belonging to two groups that had been exchanging pornographic videos and photos of teenage and pre-teen boys.
The groups connected through social media and more than 100,000 photos and videos have been confiscated at locations related to them.