The Osaka District Court convicted the 31-year-old unemployed man, whose name is being withheld to protect the privacy of the elementary school-aged boy, of theft. Prosecutors had demanded that the stepfather spend 18 months behind bars.

"The defendant's crime is malicious and vicious," Judge Tamotsu Kurihara said, noting that he forced his stepson to commit the crime because an elementary school child could not be prosecuted.

The man conspired with his wife and an acquaintance to force the wife's son to steal 16 items such as box lunch, worth about 2,200 yen, from a convenience store in Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka, on Feb. 22, according to the ruling.

The stepson was a fifth grader at an elementary school.

（Mainichi Japan） December 26, 2007

The information on this website concerns a matter of public interest, and is provided for educational and informational purposes only in order to raise public awareness of issues concerning left-behind parents. Unless otherwise indicated, the writers and translators of this website are not lawyers nor professional translators, so be sure to confirm anything important with your own lawyer.
Last modified: December 26, 2007	Copyright © 2003-2006	Contact us
URL of this page is http://www.crnjapan.com//abuse/aarticles/2007/en/20071226-boy_shoplifts_dad_jailed_osaka.html