"Men Lured by False 'Casual Meeting' Bait... Police Tracking Suspect"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Police have launched an investigation into a suspect who lured men under false pretenses by claiming to arrange "conditional meetings" at a specific apartment, causing anxiety among residents.

On the 25th, Gwangju Northern Police Station announced that on the morning of the 19th, they accompanied Mr. A, a man who rang the doorbell of a house within an apartment complex in Buk-gu, Gwangju, for questioning.

According to the police, Mr. A was deceived by false information given by a person who introduced themselves as a woman on an anonymous chat app, telling him, "If you want to meet, come to this address," leading him to visit the house.

After reviewing nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage on the day of the incident, the police confirmed that three other men, in addition to Mr. A, also rang the doorbell of the house.

The suspect is believed to have provided the men with the password to the first-floor entrance door of the apartment complex. According to the JoongAng Ilbo on the 27th, when questioned by residents asking "Who are you?", these men reportedly responded that "On an anonymous chat app, the person who introduced themselves as a minor female suggested a conditional meeting and gave Mr. A's home address."

The police are pursuing the suspect on charges of "attempted trespassing as an indirect perpetrator," while considering the men who were deceived by the false address and rang the doorbell as not subject to punishment, planning to investigate them as witnesses.

An indirect perpetrator refers to someone who commits a crime by using others who are unaware of the criminal act or lack intent as "tools."

Meanwhile, a suspect who was tried for a similar case involving luring men under false pretenses using "conditional meetings" as bait was sentenced to a heavy punishment.

On the 4th of last month, the 11th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Yong-chan) sentenced Mr. B (29), who was tried on charges including instigating trespassing and sexual assault, to 13 years in prison, ordered him to complete 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and imposed a 10-year ban on employment at child and youth-related institutions.

However, the court acquitted Mr. C (39), who was also tried on charges including trespassing and sexual assault.

The court stated, "Considering all the evidence, it cannot be concluded that Mr. C knew his actions constituted sexual assault or that he knowingly tolerated it. It appears he was deceived by Mr. B and believed he was engaging in a role-play scenario, so there is insufficient basis to find him guilty of the charges."

Regarding Mr. B, who instigated the role-play, the court explained, "He committed a bizarre crime by using Mr. C as a tool for sexual assault and showed boldness in actively instructing the assault on the victim," as the reason for sentencing.

Investigations revealed that in August of last year, Mr. B created a profile on a random chat app as a "35-year-old woman" and posted a false message saying he was looking for a man to meet for a role-play scenario involving sexual assault. Mr. B gave the address of a one-room apartment near his home to Mr. C, who showed interest in the post, and Mr. C was then tried for sexually assaulting a woman living in that apartment. The two were found to have no prior acquaintance.

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