A Man Who Broke into a Home and Committed Sexual Assault Thinking It Was a 'Gangrape Role-Play' Acquitted in First Trial, Convicted by Supreme Court

The defendants in the 'rape role-play' case, who were acquitted in the first trial, were all found guilty by the Supreme Court. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Nana Han] The defendants involved in the 'rape role-play' case, who were acquitted in the first trial, have all been found guilty by the Supreme Court.

On the 25th of last month, the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's sentence of 5 years imprisonment for Mr. A (39) on charges of rape. Mr. B (29), who induced Mr. A to sexually assault the victim under the pretense of a rape role-play, was also sentenced to 9 years imprisonment.

In August 2019, Mr. B falsely created a profile on a random chat application claiming to be a "35-year-old woman" and posted a message saying, "I want to be raped and am looking for a man to meet for a role-play."

Mr. A, seeing this, showed interest and contacted Mr. B. Mr. B then gave Mr. A the address of a one-room apartment near his home, pretending that he lived there. That night, Mr. A went to the one-room apartment at the given address and sexually assaulted an unknown woman.

In the first trial, Mr. A, who was charged with home-invasion rape under the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, was acquitted. The trial court stated, "It is difficult to see that Mr. A knew his act was rape or knowingly tolerated it," and judged that "he seemed to have only recognized it as having sexual intercourse while playing the role of a rapist."

The prosecution immediately appealed and, after legal review, added rape charges against Mr. A.

Six months later, on December 4 of last year, the appellate court overturned the original verdict and sentenced Mr. A to 5 years imprisonment for rape. Additionally, it ordered 80 hours of sexual violence treatment program completion and a 10-year employment ban at child and youth-related institutions.

The appellate court judged, "It is extremely abnormal that the start and end of the rape role-play, and whether to use contraceptives, were not discussed during the agreement process."

It also stated, "It is hard to believe the victim gave up anonymity to the extent of providing the address and participated in this role-play," and "Although the victim's reactions during the rape process should have raised suspicion, the defendant's claim that he only believed it was a role-play is not convincing."

Mr. B was previously sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in the first trial for home-invasion rape, based on the logic that he used Mr. A to sexually assault the victim. In the second trial, he was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment for attempted home-invasion rape (indirect perpetrator), as he was seen to have caused Mr. A to commit the crime.

The Supreme Court dismissed all appeals filed by the defendants and the prosecution without oral arguments, stating, "There is no legal error in the appellate court's judgment."

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