Suspended Sentence in 30s for Sexual Crime Committed in Teens... Imprisonment Just Before Statute of Limitations Expiry

Forced Sexual Intercourse with Victim Met Through Internet Chat
Investigation Halted Due to Victim's Long-Term Hospitalization... Resumed Last Year

Two men who committed sex crimes during their teenage years were sentenced to prison just before the statute of limitations expired.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Jeong Doseong) sentenced A (32) and B (31), who were indicted for violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (special rape), to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year probation period, and also ordered them to attend a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program.

Court defendant, defense counsel seat.
Photo by Yonhap News

The two, who were friends, are accused of forcibly having sexual intercourse with victim C (then 15 years old), whom they met through internet chatting, while drinking together in a rented room in Anyang City in July 2008, when they were 17 and 16 years old respectively.

The investigation was suspended after C was hospitalized for a long period due to a traffic accident in 2009, but resumed last year. The prosecution brought A and B to trial last July, just before the statute of limitations expired.

At that time in 2008, the statute of limitations for rape was 10 years, but it was extended to 15 years by the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act in 2017.

It is reported that during the investigation, they coordinated their statements to deny the crime but admitted the charges only after being indicted.

The court stated, "The victim likely suffered great sexual shame and psychological shock at a young age due to the crime," and "this probably had a negative impact on the victim’s healthy sexual values and identity formation."

However, the court explained the sentencing by saying, "The defendants paid the victim 50 million won and reached a settlement, and the victim does not wish for punishment. Also, 15 years have passed since the incident, and the defendants are currently living as ordinary members of society."

Meanwhile, there was also a case where a man who committed a sex crime about 20 years ago and fled, with his whereabouts unknown, was caught through DNA matching analysis and stood trial. Mr. D was imprisoned last year on separate charges of attempted nighttime trespassing and theft and was about to be released.

Mr. D denied the charges, saying, "I do not remember at all," but the police sent his DNA sample to the National Forensic Service, which found that the DNA matched the information of Mr. A collected from a past crime scene.

Subsequently, the prosecution, having taken over the case from the police, re-arrested Mr. D just before his release, conducted supplementary investigations, and brought him to trial on the 16th of last month.

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