Photo/Illutration The Fukuoka District Court in Fukuoka (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

FUKUOKA--A man convicted of sexually abusing his teenage stepdaughter was sentenced to seven years in prison on June 9 in a retrial here that hinged on the reliability of the girl's testimony. 

The man, 39, was charged with forced sexual intercourse of a minor by a parent or guardian. His defense team appealed the ruling the same day.

Prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence.

According to the ruling, the man sexually assaulted his stepdaughter, who was 14 at the time, at their home in Fukuoka Prefecture between Jan. 31 and Feb. 12, 2018, by taking advantage of his position to support and take care of her.

The trustworthiness of testimony given by the daughter was disputed in the court proceedings.

The Fukuoka District Court ruled that her testimony was specific enough to make the accusations credible, considering the degree of her intellectual development. It rejected claims by the defendant, who pleaded not guilty.

In the July 2019 ruling, the same court acquitted the man of the charges, questioning the trustworthiness of the daughter’s testimony.

In March 2020, the Fukuoka High Court ruled that the district court should consider the possibility that she failed to provide reliable testimony due to lingering mental trauma from the sexual assaults.

The high court sent the case back to the district court, citing the need for more court hearings to properly determine the credibility of her testimony.

The defendant appealed the high court ruling, but the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in September last year.

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