Middle School Student Sentenced to Jail for Distributing Photos of Acquaintance's Humiliation at Same Academy

Strangers to Each Other... Created and Posted Synthetic Nude Photos
Court: "Perpetrator Was 14 at the Time, but Severe Punishment Is Inevitable"

A middle school student who created a synthetic nude photo of a female student he did not know but who attended the same academy, and posted so-called 'acquaintance humiliation' content on social networking services (SNS), was sentenced to prison and taken into custody in court.

According to Yonhap News on the 19th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Wonju Branch of Chuncheon District Court sentenced A (16) to 2 years and 8 months in prison for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials) and instigating defamation. A was also ordered to complete a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program and was banned from employment at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities for 3 years. A, who had been on bail during the trial, was taken into custody following the prison sentence.

A was on trial for sending a photo of B (17), found on SNS in late May last year, to an unidentified person and requesting to create a 'deepfake' synthetic manipulated acquaintance humiliation post, which was then posted and distributed. 'Acquaintance humiliation' refers to the act of posting synthetic photos that cause humiliation to the victim along with false information such as the victim’s name and age on SNS and other platforms.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Additionally, on December 19, 2021, A also instigated defamation by requesting an unidentified person to post an acquaintance humiliation post containing B’s personal information and photos. It was reported that A and B only attended the same academy but did not know each other. Just before the first trial verdict, A apologized, saying, "I am sorry to the victim."

The court stated, "Although A had no personal relationship with the victim, he committed a despicable crime solely to harass the victim," and pointed out, "Considering the insulting content of the post and photos seriously infringed on the victim’s social personality rights, the nature of the crime is very bad." The court further explained the sentencing and reason for custody, saying, "We deliberated extensively as the defendant was a 14-year-old boy whose sexual awareness was not fully developed at the time of the crime," but added, "Even considering this, we could not ignore the victim’s pain, who pleaded for severe punishment of the defendant."

Meanwhile, both A and the prosecution have appealed the first trial verdict.