A Man in His 50s Arrested for Sexual Assault of an Elderly Dementia Patient in Her 80s

Police Resubmit Warrant Request After Prosecutor's Supplementary Request
Court Issues Arrest Warrant Citing "Flight Risk"...

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A man in his 50s who broke into the home of an elderly dementia patient in her 80s and sexually assaulted her has finally been arrested.

On the 14th, Im Hae-ji, the warrant judge at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) for Mr. A, who is accused of trespassing and quasi-rape, and issued an arrest warrant citing "risk of flight."

Mr. A, who is known to have an intellectual disability, is accused of breaking into a multi-family house in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, in March and sexually assaulting the victim in her 80s.

Analysis of nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) by the police revealed that Mr. A had broken into the victim’s home several times during the week prior to the crime.

The victim’s son, who lives with her, reportedly did not lock the door when leaving for work, considering that his mother, who has dementia symptoms, found it difficult to open the door by herself.

The Geumcheon Police Station in Seoul, which investigated the case, applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A once in April but, after the prosecution requested supplementary investigation, collected additional evidence over the course of about a month.

Mr. A initially denied the crime but later, during police questioning, reportedly stated that he only admitted to one incident of the crime.