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| Japan jails first juvenile |
| By News24.com |
| Published: 11/24/2003 |
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A Japanese teenager became the country's first person to be jailed for a crime committed while under the age of 16 last Thursday when he was sentenced to at least three-and-a-half years for gang-rape and robbery. Hideyuki Hattori, now 16, who became the first 15-year-old to be criminally prosecuted last year, will serve at least three-and-a-half years with a maximum of six years for the crime carried out with two accomplices, said a spokesperson at the Fukushima District Court. The three broke into the apartment of a 20-year-old woman in September 2002, raping her repeatedly for hours and robbing her, according to court documents. The court also sentenced 17-year-old Eitaro Kokubun, who was 16 at the time of the offence, to four-seven years, the official said. A revised juvenile law lowering the minimum age at which children can be held criminally responsible from 16 to 14 years old, to deal with a surge of serious crimes committed by juveniles, took effect in April 2001. It was the first major amendment to the law since it was enacted in 1949. |
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