A Man in His 50s Sentenced to Prison for Forcibly Molesting Teenage Stepdaughter While Talking in His Sleep...

Gwangju District Court. A stepfather who repeatedly sexually assaulted his stepdaughter was sentenced to prison.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] A man in his 50s was sentenced to prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting his young stepdaughter.

On the 21st, the 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (Chief Judge Jaeho Noh) sentenced Mr. A (55), who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, etc. (quasi-forced molestation by a family member), to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

He was also ordered to be banned from employment for 5 years at institutions related to children and adolescents, welfare facilities for the disabled, and child-related organizations.

The court explained, "The defendant betrayed his responsibility to protect and raise the young stepdaughter victim, taking advantage of her being intimidated by domestic violence and unable to resist easily, and committed multiple acts of molestation. The nature of the crime is quite serious."

It added, "The victim and her mother want strict punishment for the defendant. Considering that the degree of molestation was relatively not severe and that the defendant has no prior record of sexual crimes or imprisonment, these circumstances were comprehensively taken into account in sentencing."

Mr. A was tried on charges of sexually abusing and sexually assaulting Ms. B, a child and adolescent, four times from September 2013 to August 2014 by using his authority.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A committed the crimes such as forced molestation starting around the time Ms. B turned 13 years old. When Ms. B was sleeping alone at home, Mr. A lay beside her and rubbed certain parts of his body against her. When Ms. B said to Mr. A, who was molesting her, "Dad, why are you doing this? It's me," he acted as if he was asleep.

Ms. B reported Mr. A to the police only after reaching adulthood, trying to prevent harm to her mother and maintain the family.

In court, Mr. A claimed, "I never engaged in any physical contact as described in the criminal charges, and Ms. B falsely reported the victimization to help her biological mother gain an advantage in a divorce lawsuit."

However, the court judged that Ms. B’s testimony, although about events long ago, was factual, detailed, consistent in key parts, and contained no contradictions within the statements themselves.

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