[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A 70-year-old grandfather who sexually assaulted his 10-year-old biological granddaughter for several years and recorded the acts was sentenced to a heavy punishment again in the appellate court.
At 2 p.m. on the 12th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 9 (Chief Judge Moon Gwangseop) sentenced Mr. A (74, male), who was indicted for violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, to 17 years in prison, the same as the first trial. He was also ordered to undergo 2 years of probation and a 5-year employment restriction period related to children and disabled persons.
The court stated, "As a biological grandfather, he was in a position to protect the victim, but instead, he exploited the fact that the victim was young, unable to fully exercise sexual self-determination, and unable to easily resist the defendant's demands, using her as an object to satisfy his sexual desires," and criticized, "This is a heinous crime of filial impiety with very bad criminal nature."
Furthermore, the court said, "The victim, abandoned by her parents, had no choice but to endure the sexual assault by the defendant, her only relative, alone, and it seems she has lived with great shock and pain to the extent of questioning 'Is he really my grandfather?' or worrying 'Could I be pregnant?'" and added, "Considering various circumstances, it is difficult to say that the original sentence was either too light or too heavy."
Earlier, Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of sexually assaulting his underage biological granddaughter about six times between February 2013 and March 2017 after placing her in a protective facility, taking her out under the pretext of going out, and recording these scenes dozens of times on his mobile phone and possessing the videos.
After being sentenced to 17 years in prison in the first trial, both Mr. A and the prosecution appealed. In the appellate trial, whether he separately copied and possessed the photos taken became an issue. Mr. A claimed, "They were automatically duplicated when I changed my phone," and denied knowing the fact or method of copying or moving the data. When asked by the prosecutor, "Why did you record and keep the videos?" he sighed and said, "I committed a grave sin. I resent myself for why I recorded them."
The appellate court accepted Mr. A's claim and judged him not guilty of separately possessing the recordings. The court explained, "It appears that he simply possessed the recordings after filming and producing them," and added, "The defendant denies knowing the reason for the data being moved and stored after changing the phone, and considering his age and occupation, there is no evidence that he deliberately manipulated this. It is also possible that the files were collectively transferred by chance when the phone was replaced, and the photo files were accidentally moved together."
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