Teacher who verbally abused female middle school student saying "Life is pitiful"... fined for child abuse

Incheon District Court Sentences Fine of 3 Million Won

A teacher in her 40s who verbally abused a student with profanity in a middle school classroom was sentenced to a fine on charges of child abuse.

On the 26th, Judge Im Jin-su of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 11 announced that teacher A (43, female), who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won.

A was prosecuted for emotionally abusing student B (14) by verbally abusing her with profanity around 2 p.m. on April 18, 2022, in a classroom at a middle school in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. At the time, A asked B, a friend of student C (14), who had left the classroom after being scolded for not bringing her textbook, "Does it make sense for a student to come to school without a textbook?" When B replied, "It could be because it's an online week, so we might not bring textbooks," A got angry, saying, "I think the students in your class are out of their minds," and "Do you think I'm XX?" Then A shouted at B, "Why do you live like that?" and "Your life is pathetic," continuing with verbal abuse such as "This is for some XX without XX," and "What's wrong with your eyes? If you want to attend school, fix your eyes."

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

During the trial, A claimed, "Some of the facts of the crime were exaggerated and not true," and argued, "I was extremely upset by C's rude attitude and spoke to the entire class, not just B, so there was no intent to abuse." However, the court ruled that guilt is not only recognized when there is a specific purpose or intent, and judged that A's remarks constituted child abuse.

The court stated, "The defendant claims that the students' testimonies were exaggerated, but based on the evidence, it is recognized that the defendant made the statements as described in the charges," and pointed out, "Considering the situation and the defendant's emotional state at the time, it exceeded the level of simply being unable to control emotions temporarily or the scope of reprimanding." It added, "The defendant's remarks were sufficiently likely to harm the victim's mental health and normal development, and the defendant should be considered to have recognized that possibility." Regarding sentencing, the court explained, "The defendant has no prior criminal record, poses no risk of reoffending, and the sentence was determined considering age, occupation, and other factors."

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