In Virginia, a grand jury chose to advance eight felony charges in a case against Stefan Koza, the former translator of Jujutsu Kaisen for English readers. The charges were handed down ahead of the jury trial in the case this summer and are in addition to the original charges filed when Koza was first arrested. Anime News Network confirmed with the Fairfax County Circuit Court that a jury trial will be held for this case in June, although Koza’s representation declined to comment on the pending case.
For those unaware of the whole situation behind the court case, we have to go back to December 2020. Virginia police arrested the translator on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography well over a year. At the time of his arrest, Koza was charged with five counts of possession and five of distribution.
Documenting the arrest, police records show Koza called 911 after cops came to his door to serve the arrest. He was told to let the authorities in, but before Koza did, he escaped through his basement with computer parts which he dumped in a nearby wooded lot. When he returned home, Koza was arrested and police questioned his decision to throw away computer parts. The report states that Koza admittedly freaked out and alleges that the former translator removed the computer parts to hide child pornography being torrented onto his device.
This arrest in the United States marks Koza’s second run-in with the law with his first occurrence in Japan circa 2014. ‘a primary school. At the time, Koza denied the charges but was sentenced to probation and ordered to leave Japan.
Viz Media terminated Koza’s employment contract after his arrest in 2020. As for Jujutsu Kaisen, the series is still going strong in Japan and the United States. Creator Gege Akutami has already released several firecrackers in 2022, and translators like John Werry have recently taken over the project. So if you want to binge on manga, you can find it fully available on Manga Plus and Shounen jumpthe digital vault via Viz Media now!
What do you think of this ongoing case? are you caught up Jujutsu Kaisen these days? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.