Part-time Worker Who Left Suicide Note Saying "I Was Sexually Assaulted"... 40s Man Sentenced to Prison and Taken into Custody

In a sexual assault case where the victim's suicide note was presented as virtually the only physical evidence, the man accused as the perpetrator was sentenced to prison.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A man accused of sexual assault, with the victim's suicide note presented as virtually the only evidence, has been sentenced to prison.

According to the Daejeon District Court, on the 16th, the 11th Criminal Division (Chief Judge Kim Yong-chan) sentenced A (40), who was charged with sexual molestation by deception and rape under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse (Youth Sexual Protection Act), to 3 years and 6 months in prison and ordered his immediate detention in court.

The court also ordered A to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and imposed a 5-year employment restriction at institutions related to children and adolescents.

A, a restaurant owner, was tried on charges of molesting a teenage female student who came to work part-time at his restaurant around 2016 and sexually assaulting her at a motel.

The female student left a suicide note in the winter of 2018, about two years after the incident, detailing her claims of sexual violence and then took her own life.

The court explained that there was no circumstance to consider the contents of the suicide note, which can be regarded as virtually the only evidence, as false.

The bench stated, "The note honestly included not only the details of the victimization but also unfavorable aspects related to the victim's school life. It does not appear that the victim had a clear reason to falsely accuse the defendant even to the point of taking her own life."

Furthermore, the court said, "The defendant's claim that the victim consented to physical contact on the first day of her part-time job is difficult to accept. Considering the testimony of the victim's friend and the fact that the defendant was fined for a similar incident, the charges in this case are recognized as guilty."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.