Prosecutors Indict Man Who Eavesdropped on Investigation by Calling Sexual Violence Victim

A man who made the victim undergo prosecution investigation while connected on a phone call and then forced the victim to retract his statement after overhearing the investigation details has been brought to trial without detention.

On the 8th, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office announced that on the 3rd, it indicted a man in his 20s, Mr. A, on charges of quasi-rape and violation of the Act on the Protection of Communications Secrets, without detention.

Mr. A is accused of having the victim, a man in his 20s named Mr. B, carry a mobile phone while connected on a call during the prosecution investigation in May 2021, secretly listening to the prosecution's investigation details.

Previously, in March 2020, Mr. A was investigated by authorities on suspicion of quasi-rape against Mr. B. Mr. B, feeling psychological pressure due to the leak of investigation details, retracted his statement by claiming the sexual intercourse was consensual, and in June of the same year, Mr. A was cleared of charges.

In November last year, while supplementing the investigation of another case in which Mr. A was detained and sent to prosecution for insurance fraud, the prosecution identified circumstances suggesting coercion to retract statements and launched a reinvestigation.

The prosecution seized Mr. A's mobile phone and, through digital forensics, secured audio files recording the victim's interrogation in the prosecutor's office.