Man Who Held Girl Captive for Decade Given 14 Years
Originally published in the Mainichi Daily News, January 22, 2002
NIIGATA — A man who held a young girl captive for almost a decade was handed a 14-year prison sentence, a Niigata court ruled Tuesday.
"The victim was held captive and endured serious abuse for nine years and two months. The pain and humiliation she suffered cannot be described in words," Presiding Judge Isoo Sakaki said in handing down the jail term to the abductor, Nobuyuki Sato.
"Her trauma is so serious that no one is sure if she will ever totally recover from the psychological damage she has suffered."
Prosecutors had been demanding the Niigata District Court slap Nobuyuki Sato with a 15-year term for abduction of a minor, illegal confinement, inflicting bodily injury and theft charges. They also urged the Niigata District Court not to include the period Sato was detained during the trial—350 days—into the sentence, but Sakaki rejected the argument.
Sato's sentence includes five years for shoplifting women's underwear for his captive. Prosecutors normally do not indict a shoplifter but they took an unusual step because they believed the maximum term for abduction and illegal confinement—10 years—was not sufficient enough for a crime of this magnitude.
A Niigata District Prosecutors Office spokesman said they were satisfied with the ruling. Takeo Kodama, one of Sato's two lawyers, also said that he had expected the outcome. Lawyers said they would consult the 39-year-old whether to appeal.
Sato abducted a fourth-grade elementary schoolgirl off the streets in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, in November 1990. He held her captive in his bedroom for nine years and two months, during which time he allowed her to take a shower only once. He also taunted the girl by reading newspapers reporting about her disappearance.
Sato subdued the girl with frequent violence and threats. He flew into rages and subjected her to savage beatings if she broke "rules" between them, the ruling read.
At the beginning of the confinement, Sato regularly used a stun gun whenever he did not like what she did. If she screamed out in pain, he gave her more electric shocks for breaking a "rule" not to make noise.
The frightened victim even used the stun gun on herself while Sato was away in an attempt to dull her senses against electric shocks, according to the ruling.
His elderly mother, who shared the same home in the Niigata Prefecture city of Kashiwazaki, was not even aware of the girl's presence throughout the period.
The atrocious crime came to an end by chance, after officials of local health authorities, who were called in by the mother to subdue the agitated Sato, found the victim in his room on Jan. 28, 2000.
The father of the victim released a statement following the ruling.
"The man who has inflicted immeasurable pain on our family finally faced justice today. Two years have passed since the rescue but it is still too much a task for us to judge if he received the right punishment. We continue to hope that a peaceful life will return to us in the future."
