crime

Man arrested for abusing 5-year-old daughter of de facto wife

24 Comments

Police in Osaka said Sunday they have arrested an unemployed 25-year-old man for abusing the 5-year-old daughter of his 41-year-old de facto wife with whom he lived.

According to police, the suspect, identified as Kazutoshi Otsuka, rammed the girl's head against a wall three times in their apartment in Yodogawa Ward on Sept 15, TBS reported. Otsuka was quoted as saying he got angry because the girl wouldn't help clean the apartment.

Police said the girl suffered injuries that took about one week to heal.

Hospital officials told police the girl had bruises on several parts of her body.

Otsuka told police he started throwing things at the girl soon after he moved into the apartment in mid-August and then started beating her, TBS reported. He has admitted using violence on her at least 20 times, police said.

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24 Comments
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So, he's 25 and unemployed and shacked up with 40 year old woman and her kid? I think the mother should share some of the blame for bringing in this loser. It's impossible to help someone that won't help themselves!

11 ( +13 / -2 )

41 years in love with 25 years Pachinko homeless criminal man ... weird

3 ( +5 / -2 )

So HE hurts the child. She presumably took the child to get medical attention and brought him to the attention of the police and both posters are blaming HER.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

What is it with all the idiotic middle-aged parents these days? A 41-year-old knows better than to let a man abuse her child.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

"De facto wife"? What does that mean?

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Otsuka told police he started throwing things at the girl soon after he moved into the apartment in mid-August and then started beating her, TBS reported. He has admitted using violence on her at least 20 times, police said.

Did the "de facto" wife know about this the whole time? Not clear because she was probably working while the loser was at home, but there were probably signs.

So HE hurts the child. She presumably took the child to get medical attention and brought him to the attention of the police and both posters are blaming HER.

Because we know the guy is hopeless so there is no point talking about him. It's her daughter she has to protect. She failed to do so by bringing Mr. Pachinko into her life.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The daughter, was probably like: who is this man moving into our home. The child is smart, she saw his deadbeat azz, crystalized, and sized him up. He could not take it, being sized up by a child, (although probably greatly sized up by external others) so he started getting violent with the child, who was interfering with his shelter, and other Maslow needs. The woman probably overlooked many aspects, just to keep penetration in her situation.

Poor kid..

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Didnt realise Japan recognised the 'Defacto' status of relationships. Correct me if i am wrong, but here you are either married, or you are an acquaintance/housemate?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Correct me if i am wrong, but here you are either married, or you are an acquaintance/housemate?

That's my understanding, which is why I can't understand the use of 'de facto' for this article.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Yeah I too wanted to learn what a "de-facto wife" is.............

All I read was about was another horror story about another broken down home where ANOTHER(we see this exact case umpteen times a month now) j-male low life shacks up with a woman already with a kid(s) & as all too often violence ensues............

1 ( +1 / -0 )

A de facto wife just means living together and the term is usually applied to a couple that have lived together for over a year.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

I understand the mother's natural need for a second chance at romance, but I don't believe for a second that she didn't suspect anything at all could happen to her kid. Maybe she wanted to fall in love so much that she lost her common sense.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

De facto means the same as common-law or live-in partner, as Disillusioned says above. I am actually curious about how these relationships are described in other countries in media reports, as everywhere seems to have a different way of doing it.

Also, it seems that in Japan as in other lands, children are far more at risk of being abused or even murdered by non-biological parents. Look up Cinderella effect for more info.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Shame on the mother for making the "penetration in her situation" more important than her daughter's safety. There's no way she didn't know about the abuse.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

He may have used violence before, whatever that means, but, obviously it was not so serious as this time.

Being a single mom is no easy feat. My mother also shacked up with an abuser although I hesitate to say he was a loser. He worked his butt off. And he made good money. My mother got the shaft in salary like so many women do.

There is potential for a lot more desperation here than just romance. She may have been hoping he would get a job soon. Its easy for me to say that a mother would tolerate a little violence than subject her kids to chronic malnutrition. But until you have experienced it you may not understand. I was diagnosed as malnourished for a time in my childhood. That can seriously stunt your mental growth if its prolonged. That all ended when the hard working abuser came along.

Anyway, it seems he crossed the line this time. I hope the girl recovers completely.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"de facto wife"? They lived together. That doesn't make them 'de facto' spouses in any way what so ever. What a clumsy, archaic phrase.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Elizabeth

Don't know about Japan, but in some countries a "common-law" spouse has certain rights in law, which a girlfriend or boyfriend doesn't.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Poverty is a big problem in Japan, has been for a few decades(increased levels of poverty), its recently been in the news some so a bit of light being shone on it.............

I think a lot of single moms here are in VERY desperate situations to put it bluntly, so some are willingly to take risks with less(often MUCH less) than ideal dudes if you will, ................hoping their lives might improve

Seems like its a real roll of the dice here in Japan, we keep hearing a lot about violence from "men" who aren't the biological fathers sadly...........

Reminds me how lions & other similar animals like bears have no qualms about killing & even eating the young of their own species that they didn't father & some will even eat their progeny................

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What a clumsy, archaic phrase.

'Tis Latin so it's archaic for sure, but it's still very much in use in the courtroom. Just because something is "archaic" doesn't mean it shouldn't be used when it applies.

When discussing a legal situation, de jure designates what the law says, while de facto designates action of what happens in practice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_facto

So this woman was acting as his wife in all respects - they just didn't have a piece of paper saying they were married. I'd say rather than "clumsy", the choice of this phrase to describe this situation was spot-on.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is a criticism of social welfare in Japan for single mothers who may feel they need to shack up with a 'provider' in order to make ends meet. Or maybe their social world is so limited by being a single mother they take in ferals.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Is she not responsible too - for the choices she makes in her life that can directly affect her children?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It is disturbing that anyone, especially the police, believe that this child's injuries will heal in about a week. "Gambatte?"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I cannot understand these mothers that let their children be abused by these manbabies.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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