Sex Offender Who Cut Off Electronic Ankle Bracelet with Cutter and Fled Sentenced to Prison in Second Trial

Published 22 Nov.2020 11:47(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A sex offender who arbitrarily cut off and absconded with an electronic tracking device (electronic anklet) was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison in the second trial.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Criminal Appeals Division 3 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Choi Hee-jung) sentenced Mr. A (51), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Protection of Specific Criminal Offenders and Attachment of Electronic Devices, to 1 year and 2 months in prison.

On April 22 at around 7:33 p.m., Mr. A cut off the electronic anklet on his left ankle with an industrial cutter at his home in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam Province, and disappeared.

After confirming the damage, probation office staff cooperated with the police to track Mr. A’s mobile phone in real time and reviewed closed-circuit (CC) TV footage, capturing him within a few hours. It was confirmed that Mr. A did not commit any other crimes during his escape.

Mr. A was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes including rape and was required to wear an electronic anklet for 10 years starting in 2018. It was also confirmed that Mr. A had previously been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months and 8 years in prison for repeated sex crimes.

Mr. A, indicted for violating the Act on the Protection of Specific Criminal Offenders and Attachment of Electronic Devices, was sentenced to 8 months in prison in the first trial.

However, after reviewing claims that the original sentence was either too light (prosecutor’s claim) or too heavy (defendant’s claim), the Criminal Appeals Division 3 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Choi Hee-jung) accepted the prosecutor’s appeal, overturned the original ruling, and sentenced Mr. A to 1 year and 2 months in prison.

The court stated, "Cutting off the electronic device attached due to the risk of recidivism in sexual violence crimes with an industrial cutter should be severely punished considering the purpose of the law to protect the public from crime."