Former Short Track Coach Jo Jae-beom Sentenced to 13 Years for Sexual Assault of Student

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The 13-year prison sentence has been finalized for Jo Jaebeom, the former national short track coach, who was tried on charges of sexually assaulting his former prot?g?, short track skater Shim Seokhee. The court did not accept Jo's claim that the relationship was consensual.

On the 10th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Daeyeop) upheld the original sentence of 13 years imprisonment, 200 hours of sexual violence treatment program, and a 7-year employment ban at child, youth, and disabled welfare facilities in the appeal trial of Jo, who was charged with violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Offenses.

Jo was prosecuted for sexually assaulting, forcibly molesting, and threatening Shim 29 times from 2014 to 2017. Some of the crimes occurred while Shim was a minor, leading the prosecution to apply charges under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Offenses.

The first trial found the testimony based on Shim's training diary credible and sentenced Jo to 10 years and 6 months in prison. The court pointed out, "The defendant maintained a strict training method in the hierarchical relationship between coach and athlete, frequently monitored the victim's status, and psychologically dominated the victim while committing crimes over several years."

Jo denied the charges but reversed his statement in the second trial, claiming the sexual relations were consensual. Although the court doubted the credibility of the victim's increasingly detailed testimony over time, the second trial court ruled, "The victim's statements were made by comprehensively considering other objective materials such as training diaries and text messages, making it difficult to view the earlier statements as newly retracted."

The sentence was increased. Despite the victim's firm denial of the consensual relationship claim, Jo failed to submit any additional evidence, leading the court to state, "Jo's claim can be seen as causing so-called secondary harm to the victim," and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

The Supreme Court's judgment was consistent. It stated, "Considering various factors affecting sentencing such as the defendant's age, sexual behavior, environment, relationship with the victim, motive, means and results of the crime, and circumstances after the crime, it cannot be said that the original sentence of 13 years imprisonment is excessively unfair."

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