A former junior high school teacher who filmed a 13-year-old girl with a camera he set up inside a school and gave the footage to other teachers has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison. The Nagoya District Court handed down the sentence on the fifth.
Takehiro Suzuki, 33, who taught in Ibaraki Prefecture, was convicted of secretly filming the girl at the school three years ago and providing the video data to fellow teachers. He admitted the charges during his trial.
Prosecutors had sought three years and six months. The defense asked for leniency.
Judge Mayuko Nishiwaki said the material handed on totaled 98 videos and called the crime serious. "It damages trust in teachers, and the consequences are grave," she said, according to CBC TV.
The court took into account that settlements had been reached in some parts of the case before imposing the prison term without suspension.