"I'll Buy You Cigarettes Instead"... Man in His 30s Had Sexual Relations with 12-Year-Old Girl

Seoul Nambu District Court Sentences to 2 Years Imprisonment with 3 Years Probation

A man in his 30s who had sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl in exchange for buying cigarettes was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

On the 9th, the Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Dang Woo-jeung) announced that Mr. A (38), who was indicted on charges of statutory rape of a minor, was sentenced to 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension. He was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service, attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures, and was banned from employment at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities for 3 years.

Seoul Nambu District Court

Mr. A first met the victim, Ms. B (then 12 years old), through social networking services (SNS) in January last year and exchanged messages. At that time, Ms. B told Mr. A that she was 15 years old. Mr. A was tried on charges of having sexual relations with Ms. B at his home in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, knowing that she was a minor. He demanded sexual relations from Ms. B in exchange for buying cigarettes for her.

The court stated, "Mr. A targeted a young victim who had difficulty properly exercising sexual self-determination as an object of sexual desire," and "It is expected that the victim will be negatively affected in forming her future sexual values." However, the court explained the sentencing reasons by considering "that he has no prior criminal record, admitted and reflected on all the crimes, made efforts to restore the damage by paying the victim 10 million won, and that the victim does not wish for the defendant’s punishment."

The crime of statutory rape of a minor is established when the perpetrator knows that the other party is 'under 13 years old' or '13 years or older but under 16 years old' and has sexual intercourse. The crime is recognized even if the victim consents.

Recently, cases of sexual relations with minors in exchange for buying cigarettes have been occurring one after another. Last month, a man who touched the body of a teenage youth and engaged in similar sexual acts in exchange for two packs of cigarettes and 50,000 won in cash was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspension by the Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court.

Also, in September last year in Ulsan, two men were prosecuted on charges of statutory rape of a minor, sexual purchase under the Youth Protection Act, and violation of the Youth Protection Act after sending direct messages saying "I will buy cigarettes for you" in response to a post by a 13-year-old youth titled "Looking for someone to buy cigarettes on my behalf." The court sentenced each of them to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspension.

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