50-Year-Old Teacher Given Probation for Rubbing Female Student's Arm and Stroking Her Cheek

Court: Teacher Who Should Guide and Protect Students Instead Commits Molestation

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A teacher in his 50s who was prosecuted for groping a female student's body and stroking her cheek was sentenced to probation in the first trial.

The Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Lee Sang-ju) announced on the 11th that it sentenced teacher A, in his 50s, who was charged with violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (forcible molestation), to one year in prison with two years of probation. In addition, A was ordered to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures and was banned from employment at child and youth-related institutions and welfare facilities for the disabled for three years.

Teacher A, who works at a high school in Seoul, was prosecuted for allegedly touching the body of B, who was 16 years old at the time, in the teachers' office on the first floor in October 2018. Upon seeing B with a cast on the lower part of her left arm, A asked, "Are you okay?" and then massaged the upper part of the arm without the cast with both hands.

In August of the following year, inside the student guidance office on the second floor of the school, A was found to have stared intently at B and stroked down the right side of B's face with his right index finger.

B later informed her homeroom teacher and others about the incident. In response, A reportedly told B through the homeroom teacher, "If you think I am at fault, come and talk to me anytime," and even called B directly to the teachers' office, but B's side requested isolation measures.

The court stated, "B consistently gave statements that matched the charges regarding the process, content, and method of the crime from the investigation stage to the trial," and judged that "the descriptions of the situation at the time were specific and clear, and there was nothing that could be considered irrational."

It further explained, "Although there are some unclear parts in B's testimony regarding the exact time and circumstances before and after the incident, this can be sufficiently explained by the fact that the defendant's physical contact was sudden or due to memory loss over time."

The court added, "There is no particular motive or circumstance found that would lead B, who was a student at the time, to fabricate false testimony unfavorable to teacher A, despite the burden of being investigated by authorities and the risk of being punished for false accusation."

Moreover, the court criticized A, saying, "Although he was in a position to guide and protect students, he instead exploited this to molest his student victim and did not receive forgiveness from the victim."

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