30s Sentenced to 9 Years for Forcing Minor into Prostitution by Threatening to Distribute Nude Photos

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The first trial court handed down a heavy sentence to a man in his 30s who forced a teenage girl to take and send nude photos of herself, then threatened to distribute them to coerce her into prostitution.

The Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Kyung-ah) sentenced Jeong Mo (30), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of obscene materials), to nine years in prison on the 13th, stating, "The crime is serious and highly condemnable as it involved producing obscene materials targeting socially inexperienced juveniles and extorting money."

Jeong was tried on charges of producing child and juvenile obscene materials by receiving four nude photos from a 14-year-old victim in 2019, threatening to distribute them, and forcing her into prostitution twice. He was also accused of extorting cultural gift certificates worth approximately 550,000 won and cash amounting to 1.29 million won from the victim through threats.

Jeong claimed that since he did not take the photos himself, he could not be considered to have produced obscene materials, and that he only took money from the victim without forcing her into prostitution.

However, the court did not accept this. The court stated, "Even if the photos were not taken directly by the defendant, if he gave specific instructions during the process, it constitutes production, and it has been confirmed that the defendant made specific demands related to prostitution."

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