“Go for it!” Elementary School Teacher Who Filmed a Girl Doing a Bridge Without Her Knowledge Reveals in Court “What He Wanted to See”

He made a young girl do a bridge

“10 more seconds! I’ll count this toward your grades, so do your best!”

It is reported that the smartphone of a teacher arrested on suspicion of secretly filming under the shorts and skirts of four young girls at the elementary school where he worked contained videos of him making the girls do the bridge pose while speaking to them in this manner.

“On June 3, ’26, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Juvenile Welfare Division arrested Tasuku Sugino (40), a primary school teacher in Tokyo (currently on leave), on suspicion of photographing sexual poses and non-consensual obscenity.He is suspected of summoning Ms. A (11 at the time) at the elementary school where he worked, making her do a bridge pose for lewd purposes, and filming inside her shorts. Three other girls were also victims of his voyeurism, and Suspect Sugino reportedly stated, ‘It was to relieve stress.’” (Social Affairs Reporter, National Newspaper)

The incident came to light following a separate voyeurism incident that occurred on May 6.Sugino was arrested after being subdued by passersby while attempting to film under the skirt of a middle school girl with his smartphone on a street in Shibuya Ward. An analysis of the confiscated smartphone revealed multiple obscene videos, leading to the discovery of the offenses committed at the school.

Defendant Sugino, who faces charges of filming and attempting to film sexual poses of multiple children—including Ms. A—is scheduled to receive his sentence on September 30. Let’s take another look back at the trial.

The trial took place on September 17 and concluded the same day. The indictment and opening statements revealed the defendant’s despicable crimes, in which he viewed his students as sexual objects despite his position as a teacher.

At the elementary school where he worked, Defendant Sugino engaged in voyeurism against four girls (aged 8 to 12 at the time), including Ms. A, by inserting his smartphone into the gaps in their shorts, among other methods. In connection with this, he has not been indicted on charges of non-consensual indecent acts for allegedly “making them do the bridge pose for obscene purposes.”

Furthermore, on May 6, he repeatedly engaged in voyeurism on the street in front of and inside “SHIBUYA109.” In addition to the middle school girl whose identification led to his arrest, he also filmed under the skirts of four unidentified individuals.

“I wanted to see whether it was visible or not.”

According to the indictment and opening statements, defendant Sugino began engaging in voyeurism at the elementary school where he worked no later than 2022. It is alleged that, no longer satisfied with just filming inside the school, he began engaging in voyeurism on the streets as well.

Reflecting on what prompted him to begin the secret filming, he said:

“It was due to stress. I was at school working from morning till night, and because I couldn’t find any time for myself, I was building up stress. To relieve that stress, I resorted to inappropriate and inexcusable methods. Of course, I understand that just because I was under stress doesn’t make my actions excusable.”

All four girls who were victims at the school were students with whom the defendant, Sugino, had a connection—either as their homeroom teacher or as the teacher in charge of their classes. “I called out girls wearing shorts and secretly filmed them,” said the defendant, Sugino, explaining his motive as follows:

“I thought it would be nice to see just the part where you could make out whether her underwear was visible or not, so I called them over and took the photos.”

In the case involving Ms. A, he even made her do a bridge. Why did he want her to go that far? Defendant Sugino explained it this way:

“There was an opportunity to do a bridge during the stretching exercises in physical education class. So I thought I might be able to use how many seconds she could hold the bridge as a reference for her class evaluation. That’s why I called Ms. A over, had her do a bridge, and filmed her with my smartphone. However, ‘how many seconds she could hold the bridge’ was merely a reference.”

When asked why he called Ms. A over , he replied , “Because she was wearing short shorts that day.” He also stated, “I don’t think [Ms. A] realized she was being filmed.” When asked whether taking photos with his own smartphone was permitted at the elementary school where he worked, he answered, “I don’t think it was permitted.”

“It’s not that I have a preference for children.”

Defendant Sugino, who secretly filmed four girls, including Ms. A, clearly denied the question, “Were you targeting only minors?”

“Since I was taking secret photos inside the school, the subjects were schoolchildren, but I simply wanted to capture images where you could just barely make out whether their underwear was visible or not; I have absolutely no particular preference for schoolchildren.”

Regarding his arrest, defendant Sugino stated , “I felt guilty for engaging in an act I shouldn’t have done [secret filming], but I couldn’t stop myself.” He revealed that after being released on bail, he visited a specialist who diagnosed him with paraphilia, and he is currently undergoing counseling and medication treatment.

In his closing argument, the prosecutor stated, “This is a malicious crime that exploited the defendant’s position as a teacher, and the habitual nature of the offense is striking.”“It is unclear whether each victimized child is aware of these offenses, but if they were to become aware, the psychological distress and impact on their future development would be immeasurable,” the prosecutor said, seeking a sentence of “one year and six months in prison.”

On the other hand, while the defense attorney acknowledged that “each offense committed on school grounds is reprehensible,” he argued that “regarding the offenses committed on the street, since what was recorded was leggings rather than shorts, the degree of infringement on legal interests is minor.” Citing factors such as “the defendant’s ongoing treatment at a specialized clinic and the expectation of family supervision moving forward,” the defense requested a suspended sentence.

Defendant Sugino stated that he had aspired to become a teacher because he had relatives who were teachers. When asked by the prosecutor, “What did you want to do as an elementary school teacher?” he replied, “I wanted to engage in educational activities with the children.”

Judge Hayato Horiuchi addressed defendant Sugino as follows:

“It is precisely because you were in the position of a teacher that the children were smiling even when the camera was pointed at them. The claim that you ‘took advantage of your position’ is from your perspective; from the children’s perspective, they were victimized by someone they never expected would do such a thing (secret filming). Please truly reflect on the fact that you betrayed the trust of the children.”

How deeply did Judge Horiuchi’s words resonate with defendant Sugino?