Police Officer Who Illegally Filmed 10 Women on Dating App... Profile Picture Shows Uniform

Attempt to Destroy Evidence as Investigation Begins

An active-duty police officer was arrested on charges of illegally filming more than 10 women he met through a dating application (hereinafter referred to as 'app').

According to a Yonhap News report on the 22nd, the Suwon Southern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that it had arrested Sergeant A, affiliated with the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency, on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (filming using a camera, etc.) and instructing evidence destruction, and sent him to the prosecution.

Mr. A is accused of meeting more than 10 women in their 20s and 30s whom he got to know through the dating app from 2017 until December last year, filming their body parts without their consent, and storing the footage.

Smartphone Chatting
[Image Source=Asia Economy DB]

He reportedly used a filming device disguised as a portable battery to conduct the illegal filming.

Additionally, Mr. A is also charged with asking an acquaintance to dispose of a hard disk containing the illegal footage after the police investigation began. The acquaintance has been criminally charged with evidence destruction.

The crime was uncovered last month when one of the victims discovered Mr. A’s illegal filming and filed a complaint with the prosecution. After receiving the case from the prosecution, the police revealed Mr. A’s charges and arrested him.

Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency building exterior
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Police investigation revealed that Mr. A posted a photo of himself in a police uniform on the dating app, revealing that he was an active-duty police officer, yet committed these crimes. Mr. A was suspended from duty once the investigation started. The police plan to proceed with disciplinary action against him.

Meanwhile, on the 21st, Officer B of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency was also arrested on charges of statutory rape after having multiple sexual encounters with a female student under the age of 16 whom he met earlier this year through social networking services (SNS), highlighting a series of sexual misconduct cases involving police officers.

According to data from the office of Assemblyman Jeong Woo-taek of the People Power Party titled 'Status of Police Officers Prosecuted or Subject to Disciplinary Actions,' the number of police officers prosecuted for sex crimes was 22 in 2018, 25 in 2019, 22 in 2020, 23 in 2021, and 10 from January to July last year, totaling 102 over the past five years.