A man in his 20s who followed into a women's restroom and confined a woman receives suspended sentence on appeal

Prosecutor: "The sentence is too light" vs Defendant: "The sentence is too heavy"
Defendant: "I was too drunk to recognize it was a women's restroom"

On the 27th, the 2nd Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court dismissed both the appeal of A (28) and the prosecution in the appellate trial regarding charges of confinement and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (trespassing in a multi-use place for sexual purposes). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A man in his 20s who was prosecuted for entering a women's restroom and confining a woman was sentenced to the same punishment in the appellate court as in the first trial.

According to the Gwangju District Court on the 27th, the 2nd Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Kim Jin-man) dismissed both the appeals of A (28), who was indicted for confinement and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (trespassing in multi-use places for sexual purposes).

In the first trial, the court sentenced A to six months in prison with a two-year probation, 120 hours of community service, and 40 hours of sexual violence treatment program attendance.

The appellate court explained the situation at the time, stating, "According to CCTV footage, A entered the men's restroom and came out just before the incident, stayed in the space between the men's and women's restrooms for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and then entered the women's restroom. Before entering the women's restroom, he looked inside several times and even bumped into women coming out of the women's restroom."

It added, "Considering these points, it appears that A was aware that the place he was entering was the women's restroom."

The court stated the sentencing reasons: "Given the nature of the crime, the offense is serious. The victim likely suffered considerable psychological shock, yet no settlement was reached with the victim. Considering all sentencing factors comprehensively, the original sentence is within a reasonable discretionary range and is neither too harsh nor too lenient."

Earlier, A was indicted for following a woman, B (20), into the women's restroom of a pub around 12:30 a.m. on April 15, 2018, locking the stall door where she entered, and confining her for about one minute to prevent her from leaving.

A appealed, claiming, "I was intoxicated and did not realize it was the women's restroom. I entered the stall to vomit and had no intention to satisfy sexual desires or to confine anyone. The sentence in the first trial is too harsh."

The prosecution appealed, arguing that the sentence in the first trial was too lenient.

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