A court on Friday sentenced a 26-year-old man to 14 years in prison for kidnapping four women, confining them in his apartment and injuring them.

The Tokyo District Court convicted Yasuyoshi Kobayashi, 26, of confinement resulting in injury. The victims suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

According to indictment, Kobayashi confined four women aged between 17 and 23 at a hotel in Tokyo and other places including his apartment between December 2003 and December 2004. He threatened them saying, "If you flee, I'll kill your parents and siblings."

He further assaulted the women under the pretext of "discipline," had their hair cut at irregular lengths and attached dog collars to them so that they could not escape.

Kobayashi had pleaded not guilty, saying, "The victims were capable of escaping at any time and were not in confinement."

Kobayashi, who has changed his surname to Ishijima, often boasted of his good looks and has been dubbed the "Imprisoning Prince" by large sections of the Japanese media.

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