'Unrepentant Apology Letter'... Juvenile Court Rebukes Middle School Girl for Group Assault on Elementary Students

A middle school student accused of sexually exploiting an elementary school student and participating in a group assault was detained and brought to court. Despite submitting multiple letters of apology, the court harshly reprimanded the student for showing no genuine remorse. It was revealed that the perpetrator's letters mainly expressed personal feelings such as "It’s my first time in prison, and I’m very scared and want to go home quickly."

On the 17th, the Jeju District Court’s 2nd Criminal Division (Chief Judge Jin Jae-kyung) held the first trial for middle school students A (16) and B (16), who were detained and charged with violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles.

[Photo by Pixabay]

Student A is accused of visiting the residence of elementary school student C (12), who lives in Seogwipo City, in the early mornings of April 11 and 12, and sexually assaulting her in a nearby public parking lot restroom. It was confirmed that A also coerced an accomplice to sexually assault C.

Two months later, on June 7, student B allegedly participated with A and three other accomplices in alternately assaulting C at a pavilion near a playground in Seogwipo City, causing injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment. The assault was reportedly motivated by suspicion that C was spreading malicious rumors about B.

Notably, when C reported the abuse to the police and her father seeking help, B and an accomplice found and assaulted her again around 2 a.m. on June 10 at a tennis court in Seogwipo City. Despite C’s pleas that she could not breathe, B ignored her and continued the attack.

During this process, B threatened C into removing all her clothes and took nude photos of her with a cellphone.

At the trial, A admitted to all charges. In contrast, B acknowledged calling the victim and hitting her but denied threatening her to undress and taking photos, claiming that an accomplice present at the time was responsible for those acts. B further asserted, "I actually tried to stop it."

Judge Jin, listening to B’s testimony, remarked, "B has submitted many letters of apology. However, these letters show little concern for the victim’s suffering; over 90% of the content is about B’s own feelings, such as being scared in prison and wanting to return home quickly."

He continued, "The facts of the case reveal a horrific incident, not something that can be dismissed as ‘I was just a bit angry back then’ or ‘I didn’t think about the victim’s pain.’ I am not interested in how difficult B’s prison life is right now." He then admonished, "Reflect on your wrongdoing and consider how your actions affected the other person."

It was reported that B submitted 16 letters of apology to the court since being indicted early last month.

Meanwhile, after coordinating the witness summons schedule, the court plans to hold the second trial session around 2 p.m. on September 7.

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