Rape gang 'recruited on the internet'
A man who used the internet to recruit a gang of rapists was today sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in five sex attacks.
Yokohama District Court in Japan found 27-year-old Akihiko Kamimura guilty of teaming up with four other men to rape the women between September 1999 and March 2000.
A court official said Kamimura used the internet to recruit the men to join a group of rapists, adding that Kamimura sent an e-mail to a 37-year-old man in Osaka telling him who to attack.
Kamimura, who has been confined to a wheelchair after he was injured in a road accident, received help from the Osaka man in raping two of the five women, the official said.
‘‘His criminal responsibility is grave’’ because he used the internet to allow total strangers ‘‘to conspire easily to commit a crime,’’ Kyodo News agency quoted presiding Judge Hiroshi Yamura as saying.
Kamimura’s four accomplices were tried separately and received prison terms ranging from five to 16 years.
