Teacher who dressed elementary student as a girl for photoshoot... "Sexual abuse committed"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] An elementary school teacher who continuously subjected students to sexual harassment and verbal abuse was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the appellate court.

Today (16th), the 3rd Criminal Appeals Division of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Daegyun Han) overturned the original sentence and sentenced A (48), who was charged with violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspension, instead of 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension. Additionally, A was ordered to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures and child abuse recidivism prevention lectures.

In 2017, while working at an elementary school in Incheon, A frequently scolded B, a student who often did not listen to him. Upon learning this, B’s mother called the school principal to complain, and A took out his frustration by yelling at B. Furthermore, A made the class children take photos of B being scolded with a cellphone camera, and the next day, he verbally abused B again for not following his instructions.

Earlier in May of the same year, A lowered his pants to expose part of his buttocks, claiming "my back hurts," and asked B to apply a pain relief patch. It was also revealed that A repeatedly made sexually harassing remarks and actions, such as touching the chest of another student while saying, "Even though you are a boy, your chest sticks out."

Moreover, A held a 'cross-dressing fashion show' for the male students in the class. During a lesson on clothing, he spontaneously tied the hair of three male students with rubber bands, made them wear makeup, and instructed the students to pair up with other male students to take photos. When he received protest messages from the parents of the affected students, he called the students and scolded them, saying, "Your mother sent rude messages."

The appellate court stated, "The defendant, an elementary school homeroom teacher, emotionally and sexually abused the victim children in the class," and added, "Considering the circumstances of the crime, it appears that not only the victim children but also other students suffered significant emotional damage." The court further noted, "The defendant’s criminal nature is bad, and the guilt is heavy," and "some victim children did not forgive him even in the appellate court."

However, the appellate court acquitted A of two other emotional abuse acts that the first trial court had found guilty. The court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant admitted the charges found guilty in the appellate court and showed remorse, and some victim children and their guardians expressed that they did not want punishment," and "considering the defendant’s health condition and that this was his first offense."

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