Sentenced to 7 Years Imprisonment in First Trial
A social worker accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s with an intellectual disability over several years was sentenced to seven years in prison in the first trial.
On the 24th, the 2nd Criminal Division of Chuncheon District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (sexual assault on a protected person with a disability), to seven years in prison, according to News1.
A, who worked as a social worker at a residential facility for people with disabilities in Gangwon Province, was charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting B (29, female), who has an intellectual disability, while maintaining a close relationship with her. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment programs and was banned from employment at child and youth-related institutions and disability-related institutions for 10 years each.
Mr. A, who worked as a social worker at a residential facility for people with disabilities in Gangwon Province, was charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting Ms. B (29, female), who has an intellectual disability, while maintaining a close relationship with her.
Starting in October 2016, Mr. A took Ms. B to a place outside the living quarters where an outdoor air conditioner unit was installed and committed sexual violence. He continued to commit similar acts about 10 times until October 2020.
At the time, Mr. A knew that Ms. B, who has an intellectual disability (with a social age equivalent to 7 years and 8 months), had impaired judgment and a mental disability severe enough to make it difficult for her to fully exercise her sexual self-determination rights, and he exploited this to repeatedly molest the victim.
Attempted Evidence Tampering Including Phone Reset After Case Was Exposed
After the case was exposed, Mr. A attempted to tamper with evidence by instructing Ms. B to reset her mobile phone. During the trial, he also deceived Ms. B by contacting her and pretending he would marry her.
During the first trial, Mr. A admitted to the acts described in the charges but claimed, "I acknowledge that the acts occurred, but they were consensual with the victim," and argued, "The victim was not in a state of resistance incapacity, and I did not exploit her disability."
The court stated, "Considering the victim's intellectual disability, it is unlikely that she fabricated false statements and testified over a long period," and "The defendant denies exploiting the victim's disability in court and has retracted his confession made to the prosecution," rejecting Mr. A's claims.
The court added, "The defendant's crimes involved molestation and similar sexual acts a total of 11 times, exploiting the fact that the intellectually disabled victim was in a state where exercising sexual self-determination was extremely difficult," and "Considering that the defendant, a social worker, violated his duty to protect the victim and committed these acts repeatedly over about four years," sentenced him to seven years in prison.
Mr. A appealed the first trial verdict, and the appeal trial is currently underway at the Seoul High Court Chuncheon Branch.
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