Stefan Koza, the official English translator of the manga written and illustrated by Gege Akutami, Jujutsu Kaisen (and apparently also for the same work in Manga Plus), was arrested last December 7 on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the weekly report of the Herndon Police Department in Virginia. Koza, 33, is being held without bail on five counts of possession and five counts of distribution of child pornography at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
The Herndon Police Department made the arrest as part of a collaborative investigation with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and its hearing is scheduled for March 3. Finally, Koza, who also calls himself "Steady" and "Steady Studios" in the field of manga translation, was the English translator for multiple Weekly Shonen Jump franchises, including Ghost Girl (Ghost Reaper Girl), Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai (We Never Learn) and Tokyo Shinobi Squad.
In addition, Akutami has been publishing the manga in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine of Shueisha publishers since March 2018. Viz Media has distributed the manga digitally and physically through the Manga Plus service. The work inspires a 24-episode anime adaptation produced by MAPPA studios and on air in Japan since October 2, 2020.
Synopsis of Jujutsu Kaisen
Yuuji Itadori is a high school student with exceptional physical abilities. Every day, as a routine, he goes to the hospital to visit his sick grandfather and decides to join the high school's occult club so as not to hit the water. However, one fine day the seal of the talisman that was hidden in his high school is broken, and some monsters begin to appear. Faced with this turn of events, Itadori decides to go into the institute to save his classmates. What will fate bring him?
Source: Herndon Police Department Weekly Crime Report
© 芥見 下々 (著) / SHUEISHA 集英社
