Repeated pregnancy and abortion... 50s man sentenced to heavy punishment in appeal trial for sexually assaulting his 9-year-old stepdaughter for 12 years

Appellate Court: "Victim Remembers Only Defendant's Crime from Childhood"

A man in his 50s who sexually assaulted his stepdaughter for 12 years starting when she was 9 years old was sentenced to a heavy punishment again in the appellate court. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A man in his 50s who sexually assaulted his stepdaughter for 12 years starting when she was 9 years old was sentenced to a heavy prison term again in the appellate court.

The Jeonju 1st Criminal Division of the Gwangju High Court (Chief Judge Baek Gangjin) on the 20th upheld the original sentence of 25 years in prison for Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

He was also ordered to wear an electronic tracking device for 20 years, restricted from employment at child and disability-related institutions for 10 years, and subjected to disclosure and notification of personal information.

Mr. A was charged with sexually assaulting and molesting his stepdaughter Ms. B approximately 343 times over about 12 years starting in 2009.

Mr. A’s crimes began in 2002 when he started living with Ms. B and her mother, Ms. C. Mr. A continuously committed violence against family members and, during this time, threatened Ms. B by saying, "If you refuse my demands, I will kill the whole family and sexually assault your younger sister."

When Mr. A first committed the crime in 2009, Ms. B was only 9 years old. Due to Mr. A’s continued offenses, Ms. B became pregnant for the first time at age 14 and later experienced another pregnancy and abortion.

Mr. A repeatedly raped Ms. B, saying "I do this because I love you," and threatened her not to meet other men by saying, "You are carrying my child, so act like my wife."

Fearing retaliation, Ms. B did not report the abuse until last August, after she became an adult, when she confided in an acquaintance and the case became public.

Ms. B’s mother, Ms. C, knew about Mr. A’s crimes but neglected to act.

In October last year, the first trial court stated, "The crimes in this case are so horrific that they are hard to even describe or imagine," and sentenced Mr. A to 25 years in prison, considering that the victim suffered lifelong wounds that are difficult to heal.

Mr. A appealed, claiming the sentence was too harsh, and the prosecution also filed an appeal requesting the 20-year electronic monitoring device attachment that the first trial court had dismissed.

The appellate court stated, "The defendant committed these crimes against a victim he was supposed to raise to grow up physically and mentally healthy," and pointed out, "He sexually assaulted or molested the victim, who was only 9 years old at the time, hundreds of times over 12 years, causing two pregnancies and abortions."

It continued, "The victim remembers only the defendant’s crimes instead of childhood memories of playing with friends and testified recalling all the hundreds of offenses," and explained the sentencing reason: "It is appropriate to impose a heavy sentence on the defendant who obsessed over and monitored the innocent young soul as an object of greed and assaulted or threatened others when the crimes were about to be exposed."

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