20s Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Sexually Assaulting Intoxicated Friend's Girlfriend

Committed Crime Unaware Friend Was Home... Charged with Quasi-Rape

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Sung-wook] A man in his 20s was sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting his intoxicated friend's girlfriend while she was asleep.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan District Court Seobu Branch (Chief Judge Lee Jin-hyuk) recently sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of quasi-rape, to three years in prison. The court also ordered 40 hours of sexual violence treatment program completion and a five-year employment restriction at child-related institutions.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of sexually assaulting Ms. C, the girlfriend of his friend Mr. B, at a residence in Busan in September 2019.

According to the verdict, Mr. A had a drinking party with four acquaintances at the house where Mr. B and Ms. C were cohabiting. At that time, Mr. A playfully sprayed beer on Mr. B's face. After the drinking party ended and Mr. A left, Mr. B retaliated by spraying water and then hid behind a wardrobe. Angered, Mr. A pressed the doorbell to find the hiding Mr. B. Ms. C, who was heavily intoxicated, woke up due to the noisy doorbell, opened the front door, and then went back to the master bedroom to sleep.

At this time, Mr. A recalled from an acquaintance that Mr. B had gone to his parents' house and, believing no one was home, sexually assaulted Ms. C. Mr. B, who was hiding behind the wardrobe in another room, felt something was wrong as there was no sound for a long time despite Mr. A not leaving the house, and headed to the room where his girlfriend was asleep. After witnessing Mr. A assaulting his girlfriend, Mr. B reported it to the police.

Previously, in court, Mr. A claimed the sexual encounter was consensual, but the court judged that Mr. A committed the crime by taking advantage of Ms. C's mental incapacity and inability to resist. The court stated, "The victim suffered significant psychological shock as she was sexually victimized by her boyfriend's close friend and has not yet forgiven the defendant," and added, "The defendant claimed that the witnesses were lying and that the sexual act was consensual, causing the victim to suffer greater pain and demand severe punishment." However, the court also noted, "The sentence was determined considering that the defendant is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record."