'Granddaughter's Friend Sexual Exploitation' Man in His 60s, Sentence Reversed from '18 Years Imprisonment → Not Guilty'... Why?

6-Year-Old Girl Sexual Exploitation Case: 18 Years Imprisonment in First Trial
Appeal Court Rules "Difficult to Be Certain of Victim's Testimony"

A man in his 60s who was convicted of sexually exploiting his young granddaughter's friend for five years was acquitted on appeal.

According to the legal community on the 8th, A (67) was brought to trial last April on four charges, including violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (quasi-sexual acts with a minor under 13). He was accused of taking B (then 6 years old), a neighbor's daughter who came to play with his granddaughter, to a storage shed in January 2016 and forcibly molesting her.

A was also charged with attempting to sexually assault B three times at his home or B’s house in August and November-December 2018 and September 2019, and committing quasi-sexual acts against B at his home in January 2020. Additionally, he was accused of filming B’s body with a mobile phone during this period.

The prosecution argued that A took advantage of B’s vulnerable upbringing environment and the fact that she was his granddaughter’s friend and neighbor, gaining her favor with pocket money or snacks before committing the crimes.

The Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch, which handled the first trial, found B’s testimony sufficiently credible. The court’s judgment was based on the consistency of the testimony, the detailed and rich description of key spatial and temporal characteristics, the specific content that could not be explained without direct experience, the absence of inducement to specific answers during the investigation, and the natural circumstances of the report.

The court sentenced A to 18 years in prison, ordered him to stay away from the victim, complete 80 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures, and wear an electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) for 20 years.

However, the verdict was overturned on appeal.

The Chuncheon Division of the Seoul High Court stated, “There is suspicion that inappropriate sexual contact may have occurred,” but concluded, “It is difficult to have confidence that the victim’s testimony, the virtually sole evidence corresponding to the charges, is entirely truthful beyond a reasonable doubt.” A decisive factor was the conversation exchanged via messenger in November last year between B and C, a friend of A’s granddaughter, submitted to the appellate court after the first trial ended. In response to C’s questions about the incident, B sent a message saying, “I reported falsely because I disliked A. I didn’t think he would really go to jail.”

The court judged that some parts of the existing testimony might have been somewhat exaggerated based on this. It also found suspicious points in how C contacted B and the content of the questions.

Ultimately, the court overturned the original 18-year prison sentence and acquitted A, also revoking the 20-year electronic monitoring order and dismissing the prosecution’s request for the attachment order. The prosecution has appealed the appellate court’s decision, and the case is currently under review by the Supreme Court.

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