Attempted Theft While Trying to Gift Lover a Luxury Bag... Even Tried Sexual Harassment [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

Remembered Password by Chance
Midnight Break-in to Steal Bag
"Committed Crime After 500-day Gift Dilemma"
Attempted to Touch Sleeping Victim

A man in his 20s, who was charged with breaking into the home of a woman he barely knew and attempting sexual assault in order to gift her a luxury handbag, was sentenced to a suspended prison term by the court. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

"But why did you enter the victim's house?" (Judge)

"I was destitute and entered to steal a bag." (Defendant)

"You said you entered the door lock and password of the front door, but aren't you completely strangers to the victim?" (Judge)

On November 10 last year, in a courtroom on the 5th floor of the Seoul Central District Court, the Criminal Division 31 (Presiding Judge Jo Seongpil) questioned A, who was indicted on charges of trespassing and quasi-forcible molestation. A was accused of opening the front door of victim B’s residence around 2 a.m. on August 13 of the same year and attempting to molest B, who was sleeping. Fortunately, B’s parents, who lived together, woke up, and the crime was only attempted.

As A continued to answer, his lawyer interrupted, saying, "You can refer to the submitted opinion letter," but Judge Jo said, "No, I want to hear from the defendant. The situation is somewhat unusual."

A attributed his motive to a 500-day anniversary gift for his girlfriend. He said, "At that time, I was wondering what to give my girlfriend as a gift. She often searched for luxury goods on her phone," adding, "But I thought the bag the victim had was similar to one I had seen. I’m not sure, but I thought it was a luxury item."

When Judge Jo asked, "So, you mean you were going to steal someone else’s bag as a gift for your girlfriend?", A replied, "I wanted to either give it as a gift as is or sell it secondhand to raise some money." Regarding how he came to know the front door password of B’s house, he explained, "After having dinner at my girlfriend’s house, I was smoking outside. The victim was passing by with family, making loud noises, and I heard something like a password," adding, "I was unsure, but later when I tried it, it worked."

Initially, in court, A’s side admitted to trespassing for theft but denied the molestation charges. However, during the trial, he eventually admitted to all charges and reached a settlement with B’s side.

Judge Jo strongly reprimanded A while concluding the defense proceedings, saying, "It seems you don’t fully realize what you have done." He continued, "If this repeats, we cannot be lenient. You need to understand how serious your crime is," emphasizing, "Among theft crimes, trespassing is punished quite severely by the court."

A was recently sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. The court stated, "He initially denied the crime but later admitted all charges, which are all recognized as guilty," and added, "Housing stability is paramount, and the act of breaking into the victim’s home while she was sleeping and attempting molestation, even if only attempted, is a serious offense that cannot be lightly punished."

However, the court also noted, "But since he admitted all charges belatedly and the victim has forgiven him after the settlement, considering that the crime was only attempted, the sentence was decided accordingly." Since neither A nor the prosecution appealed, this ruling became final.