Former day care center worker given 14-year term for child sex abuse

A former day care center employee was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Thursday for sexually abusing children age 6 and under in his care at facilities where he worked.

The Tokyo District Court found Nagumi Osada, 27, guilty of sexually abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6 inside closets and toilets at two day care centers where he worked as a member of nursery staff and of filming the acts over a period of two years from September 2021 to December 2023.

Presiding Judge Hideki Murohashi condemned Osada for his actions, saying that the defendant bears a “very serious” responsibility.

“The defendant abused his position as a nursery teacher and repeatedly used children as an outlet for his sexual desires. His malice is evident and his decision-making process should be severely condemned,” he said.

Murohashi also expressed sympathy toward the parents of the victims, saying that it is understandable that they have sought a severe punishment for the defendant.

“It is beyond imagination to understand the anguish of parents whose beloved children suffered such harm at a nursery, a place where they should have been able to leave their children with peace of mind.”

The ruling also pointed out that the defendant has not offered any financial compensation to the victims.

Murohashi said that even though Osada has apologized for the acts and doesn’t have a prior criminal record, the 14-year prison term is unavoidable.

Prosecutors had demanded a 15-year prison term for Osada. He pleaded guilty.

According to the ruling, Osada forced a girl, who was 3 or 4 years old at the time, to have oral sex with him in a Tokyo day care closet, and recorded a video of the ordeal on his smartphone. The actions constituted statutory rape as well as a violation of a law prohibiting the creation of child sexual abuse material.

At a separate day care center, Osada forced two girls — both around the age of 5 or 6 — to have oral sex with him between September 2021 and December of that year.

During past trial sessions, Osada has said that he was not able to control his sexual desires, and conducted the acts on children who were not aware of what was happening to them.

“I’ve damaged their humanity,” he said, according to the Beng54.jp legal news website.

Sexual assaults by male nursery teachers have been making headlines this year, with a 31-year-old man who was working at a day care center in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward arrested in October for sexually assaulting children there.

A bill to create a Japanese version of the U.K.'s Disclosure and Barring Service, to check whether people holding or seeking jobs that involve contact with children have records for sex crimes, was cleared in June by parliament and is set to go into force by December 2026.

Under the new legislation, schools, nurseries, orphanages and other institutions will be required to check whether workers have records for sex crimes, conduct related staff training and establish consultation systems.

Regarding cram schools and sports clubs, only businesses that are certified by the government will be required to check sex crime records. Individuals operating businesses as sole-ownerships, such as tutors and babysitters, will not be subject to the system.