Itou was previously arrested on a separate charge for allegedly soliciting nude photos from a minor
The article below mentions child sexual assault.
52-year-old anime producer Kouichirou Itou, who was arrested in late February for allegedly luring a 15-year-old female high school student into taking nude photos, faces new charges from the Wakayama Prefectural Police. On Friday, authorities charged Itou with knowingly exchanging money with a 15-year-old girl he met on social media last November for obscene acts, including sexual intercourse. sex is not consensual. According to investigators, Itou admitted to the charges.
According to the Kyoto Shimbun newspaper, Itou allegedly met the girl on social media in July 2022 and in November 2023 paid her 20,000 yen (about 133 USD) in cash to commit lewd acts when I found out I was under 16 years old.
Itou was first arrested in late February for allegedly soliciting a 15-year-old female high school student living in Nagano for nude photos. Itou admitted to the charges, although according to authorities, he claimed he had “done it with someone else, so [anh ta không thể] know whether it is this girl or not.”
Itou allegedly paid, according to TBS News, a small electronic sum of 12,500 yen (about $83) for the photo. The agency also said police found other videos and images on Itou’s computer and were investigating them.
According to authorities, Itou asked the girl for the photos in September 2021, with full information that the girl was a minor at the time. Police said Itou’s crimes were discovered during another prostitution investigation. Police are investigating whether there are any other victims related to Itou.
Itou was a producer on many of director Makoto Shinkai’s works, including his second feature The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and The Garden of Words, his breakthrough work. made a name for you, and his next two films were Weathering With You and Suzume.
Source: Fuji News Network (Kansai Television), Kyoto Shimbun via Hachima Kikō