JAPAN
News 24
21/02/2006 10:40 - (SA)
Tokyo - A cult leader was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping young girls in his church, saying they would go to hell if they refused, a court official said on Tuesday.
Tamotsu Kin, 62, who headed the Christian Central Church of the Holy God in Kyoto, was found guilty of raping seven young girls on more than twenty occasions in 2001-2004, according to a Kyoto District court official who asked not be named.
Kin raped the girls - aged 12-16 - in his study, and told them they would go to hell if they refused or told anyone else, said Kyodo News.
"Kin abused his position within the church to repeat his offences, which have left irreparable scars on the lives of his victims," the ruling by Presiding Judge Takeshi Uegaki read, according to the official.