30-Year-Old Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Luring 13-Year-Old Boy into Sexual Exploitation and Illegal Filming

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] A man in his 30s who impersonated a female peer and lured a 13-year-old boy to produce sexually exploitative materials was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Gochungjeong) applied provisions of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, including production and distribution of sexually exploitative materials and similar sexual acts, sentencing Mr. A to 15 years in prison and ordering him to complete 80 hours of a sexual violence program.

Additionally, information about Mr. A will be disclosed and notified for 10 years, and he is prohibited from working at child and youth-related institutions and welfare facilities for the disabled for 10 years each.

According to the prosecution, Mr. A is accused of committing similar sexual acts 21 times against Mr. B, who was 13 years old at the time, from December 2018 until around August last year. Mr. A used social networking services (SNS) to impersonate a female middle school third-year student and lured Mr. B to his home. He promised Mr. B that they would have sexual relations if he came to the house and lured him to his home in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Afterwards, he locked the door to prevent escape, threatened harm if Mr. B resisted, and committed similar sexual acts against him.

In February 2019, Mr. A threatened Mr. B by saying, "If you don't come home, I will find your friends," and after bringing Mr. B home, committed the crime. Mr. A also filmed the crime scenes three times, producing sexually exploitative materials.

The court stated, "For about 1 year and 9 months, the defendant threatened a same-sex child and juvenile victim to commit similar sexual acts or sexually assaulted by force, and even filmed the crime process to threaten the victim," adding, "The crime is very serious as it was committed repeatedly over a long period against a young victim."

It continued, "It is clear that the victim suffered extreme sexual shame and severe mental distress due to this case," and "The victim will undoubtedly face significant difficulties in establishing sexual values and in social life."

However, the court noted, "The defendant admitted all charges and showed remorse, and there is no concrete evidence that the videos were actually distributed," and "Considering that the defendant has no prior criminal record exceeding fines before the crime."