Manga Translator arrested for Possession, Distribution of Child Pornography

*Content Warning: The Following News Article mentions Child Pornography Related Charges*

According to a new report from Anime News Network’s Lynzee Loveridge and Virginia’s Herndon Police Department’s weekly crime report, 33-year-old Stefan Koza was arrested on December 7th, 2020 for Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography. Koza who also went by “Steady” and “Steady Studios” to his manga work, was an English-language translator for several Shonen Jump manga properties including Ghost Reaper Girl, We Never Learn, and Tokyo Shinobi Squad.

ANN reached out to Viz Media but there hasn’t been any comment from the company. Koza is currently being held without bond on five felony counts of possession and five counts of distribution of child pornography at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

Herndon Police Department made the arrest as part of a collaborative investigation with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce. His hearing date has been set for March 3, 2021. Stefan’s last translated chapter was 132.1 on December 13th, 2020 since then he was replaced by John Werry on Jujutsu Kaisen, Amanda Haley on Ghost Reaper Girl.

UPDATE: There has been an update in this ongoing case, Viz Media has responded to Crunchyroll’s Request for Comment, Crunchyroll’s Joseph Luster recently reported:

“Stefan Koza is not a full-time/permanent, salary employee at VIZ, he is in fact an independent contractor. We do have several translators who are freelancers/independent contractors working across a wide array of properties including those Mr. Koza has contributed to, and therefore Mr Koza’s personal life will not have an impact on the release schedule of upcoming titles.”

Also, a new report from 2014 has surfaced regarding the former translator being arrested in Kami, Miyagi Japan.