Mother sentenced to ten years in prison for child abuse that led to the death of her six-year-old

A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced a 36-year-old woman to 10 years in prison for abuse that led to the death of her six-year-old daughter in Okayama, western Japan, in 2022.

According to the indictment, in September 2021, Aya Nishida, with the consent of her 41-year-old boyfriend, left her daughter Mao standing naked in a pot for hours and forced her to vomit by putting her hands and fingers in her mouth.

They also rolled Mao into a Japanese futon mattress and stuffed her into the closet for about 80 minutes. She died in January 2022 from an anoxic brain injury.

Nishida was charged with coercion and deprivation of liberty resulting in death.

Her defense attorneys asked for a suspended sentence because her involvement was limited to aiding and abetting. They argued that she was mentally controlled by her boyfriend and was unable to stop his abuse.

Nishida's friend, Seiji Funahashi, has already been sentenced to 14 years in prison in this case.

Related coverage:

Japan passes law to ban sex offenders from working with children