Prosecution Seeks 3 Years and 6 Months Imprisonment for 'Watchman,' the Origin of 'n번방' Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] It has been confirmed that the prosecution has requested a prison sentence of 3 years and 6 months for the former operator of the 'Nth Room'?which produced and distributed sexual exploitation materials on Telegram?known as 'Watchman' (Telegram nickname). The Nth Room was the origin of the distribution channels for sexual exploitation materials, and after this room was created, several similar chat rooms, including the 'Doctor's Room,' emerged.

According to the legal community on the 24th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office requested a prison sentence of 3 years and 6 months for Jeon Mo (38, office worker), known as Watchman, at the sentencing trial held on the 19th of this month, presided over by Judge Park Min of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 9.

Jeon was indicted on charges of creating a chat room called 'Gotham Room' on Telegram from April to September last year, sharing obscene materials, promoting the chat room to an unspecified number of users, and collecting sponsorship funds.

Jeon is accused of posting a link to another chat room called 'Nosamo' in this room and uploading more than 10,000 obscene materials. Among these were about 100 nude photos and videos exposing the bodies of children and adolescents. The prosecution also applied charges against Jeon for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse (Child and Youth Sexual Protection Act).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prior to this, Jeon was indicted in October last year on charges of operating an obscene website containing illegal recordings, including videos secretly filmed of women in public restrooms. Last month, he was additionally indicted on charges of distributing over 9,000 illegal obscene materials, including videos featuring children and adolescents, through the Nth Room. These facts came to light as related investigations were further conducted during Jeon's trial process.

Jeon is known to have submitted letters of apology 12 times over the course of three trials held from November last year to this month.

The sentencing for this case is scheduled for the 9th of next month.

Meanwhile, the police are focusing their investigative efforts on tracking down the suspect with the nickname 'GodGod,' who originally created the Nth Room. Jo Mo (25), the operator of the 'Doctor's Room,' which was created as an extension of the Nth Room, has already been detained, and a decision on whether to disclose his personal information will be made today.