"Why Not Sleep?" Daycare Teachers Abusing Infants Under 12 Months... Suspended Sentence

Daycare Center Director Fined 5 Million Won

Childcare teachers at a daycare center who were charged with abuse, including hitting a toddler's back for not sleeping, were sentenced to prison with a suspended sentence. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Nana Han] Childcare teachers at a daycare center who were prosecuted for abusing children, including hitting the back of a child under one year old for not sleeping during nap time, were sentenced to prison terms with suspended sentences.

On the 21st, the Suwon District Court announced that it sentenced childcare teachers A and B of a certain daycare center, who were charged with violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, to 10 months in prison with a 2-year suspension. Additionally, they were ordered to attend 40 hours of child abuse recidivism prevention lectures and were banned from employment at child-related institutions for 3 years.

Furthermore, the daycare center director C was fined 5 million won.

A and B were prosecuted for abusing four children 75 times from late August to October 2019, including wrapping D, a 10-month-old child, in a blanket excluding the face and repeatedly hitting D’s back with their hands because D did not sleep during nap time.

It was investigated that three of the four victim children were infants under 12 months old.

The court stated, "Defendants A and B had the duty to raise the victim children healthily but instead repeatedly abused them, so their culpability cannot be taken lightly. Defendant C neglected supervision of these two defendants and failed to prevent the abuse, so their responsibility is also not light."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons by considering "the defendants’ full confession and remorse, partial settlement with the legal representatives of the victim children, and the closure of the daycare center."