Court Sentences 20s Doctor to Prison for Sexually Assaulting Intoxicated Woman by the Road... Charged with Quasi-Rape

"'The idea that intoxicated women are more likely to consent to sex' is a distorted prejudice"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A current doctor who was indicted for sexually assaulting a woman in a drunken state by taking her from the roadside to a lodging facility was sentenced to prison and detained in court.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Criminal Division 11 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Kim Yong-chan) sentenced doctor A (28), who was indicted without detention on charges of quasi-rape, to two years in prison and detained him in court.

The court stated, "It cannot be considered a normal decision-making process that the intoxicated victim agreed to sexual intercourse without knowing the defendant's personal information," and added, "The doctor, who should protect human life, showed no remorse despite raping a drunken woman."

Quasi-rape is a crime that punishes the sexual assault of a victim who is in a state of mental incapacity or unconsciousness due to intoxication, or unable to resist, in the same way as sexual assault through violence or threats against a normal victim.

A was prosecuted for approaching a woman in her 20s who was sitting by the roadside in a heavily intoxicated state and unable to control her body during the early morning hours last summer, talking briefly, then taking a taxi to a hotel and sexually assaulting her.

During the trial, A claimed that as a doctor, he approached out of concern and that they mutually agreed to have sexual intercourse during their conversation, but this was not accepted.

Considering witness statements that "the victim woman was unable to control her body" and the fact that the two moved to the hotel within about 10 minutes of talking, the court judged it difficult to see that there was actual consent to sexual intercourse.

Meanwhile, the court at the time pointed out, "Many defendants seem to hold a distorted prejudice that 'drunken female victims are likely to implicitly consent to sexual intercourse,'" and said, "Because of this wrong misconception, many people are disputing while claiming injustice."

Additionally, the court criticized A, saying, "In this case, even without mentioning the Hippocratic Oath that the defendant, a doctor, would have taken, what is necessary before qualifying as a doctor is the ability to empathize with members of society."