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Former Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Translator Stefan Koza Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail, With 7 Years of Sentence Suspended (Updated)

The Fairfax County Circuit Court of Virginia announced its sentence on April 28 for former Jujutsu Kaisen manga translator Stefan Koza (35).

On July 14, Koza was found guilty of eight counts of possession of child pornography. The court sentenced him to 10 years in jail for each of the eight counts, to be served concurrently (so for a total of 10 years, not 80). However, the court also gave Koza a partially suspended sentence. For seven years of the sentence on each count, the sentence is suspended for five years.

During the five years of the suspended sentence, Koza will be on supervised probation, which will include mental health counseling. Koza must also enter and complete sex offender treatment. Additionally, he will not be allowed to use devices that have internet access, and he cannot have access to cameras or visual recording devices. Koza must pay all costs in the case, and he must register himself in the sex offender registry for the state of Virginia.

Koza must still serve time in jail for the remaining three years of his sentence, but any time he has already spent in jail will be credited toward those three years. The Fairfax County Circuit Court did not provide ANN with information on how much time Koza has already served and how much time he has left to serve. ANN is currently waiting on the results of a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request with the Virginia Department of Corrections regarding that information.

Update on May 25: The Virginia Department of Corrections has denied ANN's FOIA request, stating, "pursuant to § 2.2.-3706(B)(4) of the Code of Virginia, the records requested are exempt from mandatory disclosure as 'records of persons imprisoned in penal institutions in the Commonwealth provided such records relate to the imprisonment.'"

A grand jury in Fairfax County had advanced the eight felony charges against Koza in December 2021. Each of the counts is for possession of child pornography, and each count is for a separate video. The case first went through the Fairfax County General District Court, and then moved to the Fairfax County Circuit Court for the grand jury indictment.

Details of Arrest in December 2020

Koza was arrested in December 2020 on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography. Virginia's Herndon Police Department made the arrest as part of a collaborative investigation with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce. He was initially charged with five felony counts of possession and five counts of distribution of child pornography.

According to a police report included in court records, police arrived at Koza's house with a warrant on December 7, 2020. Koza then reportedly dialed 911, stating someone was banging on the front door, and he was instructed to open the door for police. The report stated Koza then removed computer parts, exited through the basement of the house, and ran to the edge of a wooded lot where he threw the components. The report stated Koza then ran back toward his residence where he was arrested.

Police then reportedly asked Koza why he ran to the woods to discard property, and Koza replied that he panicked when he realized police were at his house, and he tried to discard the components to allegedly hide traces of child pornography downloads from the BitTorrent network. The report stated Koza said at the time of his arrest he was aware he was distributing and downloading child pornography files.

While Koza was originally being held without bond, he was eventually "released on recognizance" (a term meaning he was released without needing to pay bond but needed to sign a written promise to appear in court) on December 15, 2020. As part of his release, he agreed to avoid all contact with minors and agreed to not use the Internet. In January 2021 the court amended Koza's bond to allow for Koza to access Viz Media's servers and to contact two people at the company via email. Viz confirmed with ANN that it did not continue to work with Koza after his arrest.

Previous Arrest in Japan in 2014

The Sankei Shimbun reported in 2014 that Koza had been arrested on July 15 of that year in the town of Kami, Miyagi under suspicion of violating Japan's Minor Offenses Act by trespassing and secretly taking recordings in an elementary school's girls' dressing room. Koza reportedly denied the charges at the time.

The Kami school or board of education filed a criminal complaint to police in Kami on July 14, 2014. Koza reportedly stated at a staff meeting at the school that the camera was his, but he had lost it about one month prior.

Koza is a U.S. citizen who was 26 at the time of his arrest in Japan. He reportedly became an assistant language teacher (ALT) at the school in August 2009. Koza's LinkedIn profile stated he was an ALT on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program at an unspecified elementary school in Japan from August 2009 to July 2014.

The police report in the current U.S. case stated Koza told police he was arrested in Japan after allegedly hiding a GoPro camera in a changing room at an elementary school. Koza reportedly said he was given three years of probation from Japanese authorities, and was removed from Japan and ordered back to the U.S.

Past Work for Viz Media

Koza, who also went by "Steady" and "Steady Studios" in relation to his manga work, was an English-language translator for several Shonen Jump manga properties including Jujutsu Kaisen, Ghost Reaper Girl, We Never Learn, and Tokyo Shinobi Squad. Koza's LinkedIn profile stated he worked as a freelance manga translator for Viz Media since January 2018. Viz Media told ANN Koza had worked as an independent contractor for the publisher. The company noted that it has several translators who are independent contractors and provide services for a variety of titles.

Sources: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Fairfax County Sheriff's Office