13-Year-Old Daughter's Boyfriend Turns Out to Be a 49-Year-Old Married Man

A story has emerged about a 13-year-old daughter who was secretly contacting a boyfriend, only to find out he was actually a 49-year-old man. The man, who claimed to be 19 years old when contacted by the parents, gradually increased his stated age while lying repeatedly, eventually confessing, "I'm sorry, I don't want to go to prison."

(This photo is not directly related to the article)

On the 14th, MBC’s ‘True Story Expedition’ aired a story about Mr. A, a father with an elementary school-aged daughter. One day, Mr. A saw his daughter communicating with someone on a phone that was not his own. When he asked about the phone’s origin, his daughter said, "My boyfriend bought it for me," and claimed he was 19 years old. Concerned that his elementary school daughter was dating a high school student, Mr. A called the boyfriend directly.

Mr. A felt suspicious because the man’s voice did not sound like a high school student’s, and he requested to meet and talk in person, but the man avoided the meeting as if flustered. Later, Mr. A found photos of his daughter and the man together on the phone, which shocked him greatly. The man in the photos was clearly a middle-aged man who did not look like he was in his twenties.

When Mr. A called the man again to confirm his age, the man lied, first saying he was 21, then 36, gradually increasing his age, and finally admitted, "I'm sorry. I don't want to go to prison." The police confirmed that the man was actually born in 1976 and was 49 years old. He was five years older than Mr. A and was a married man.

[Photo by MBC from the broadcast screen of 'True Story Exploration Team']

Mr. A’s daughter met this man in an anonymous open chat room. The man gave her a phone registered under his name, saying, "Let’s contact secretly," and they exchanged messages typical of a romantic relationship, such as "You’re the most beautiful darling in the world." The two even met in person and went shopping at places frequently visited by elementary school students, such as Daiso and Artbox. The man also reportedly gave the daughter an allowance ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 won.

Professor Kim Taekyung of the Department of Counseling Psychology at Seowon University analyzed in an interview, "This is a typical case of child sexual grooming," explaining, "He pretends to be innocent and romantic, but in reality, he spins a web that traps the child so they cannot escape." He also pointed out, "(This man) brings up the phone expenses when he feels cornered." Indeed, among the messages sent by the man was one that said, "Because of you, the monthly phone bill is 47,000 won. It’s a 2-year contract. So we can’t break up."

[Photo by MBC from the broadcast screen of 'True Story Exploration Team']

Meanwhile, 'digital grooming' refers to the act of approaching children and adolescents through online chats, mobile messengers, SNS, etc., to lure and groom victims, facilitating sexual exploitation and preventing disclosure of the abuse. According to the status of sexual exploitation victims under 14 years old over the past five years (2018?2022) released by the Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute’s Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center last year, the most common initial route for offenders to approach children under 14 was chat apps (36.8%), followed by SNS (24.8%) and games (13.4%).

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