"Have You Ever Kissed?" Game Streamer Stalking by Former Teacher in His 30s

Teacher's Past Student Sexual Harassment Record "Severe Punishment Inevitable"

A former middle school teacher in his 30s who continuously sent inappropriate messages such as "Have you ever kissed?" to a game streamer was ultimately sentenced to prison.

On the 11th, Judge Kim Taek-seong of the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 announced that he sentenced A (31), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, to one year in prison. He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program.

A was prosecuted for stalking by sending letters to game streamer B’s email or writing in the chat window of B’s live broadcasts a total of 23 times from May to the end of December last year. During the live broadcasts, he asked B, "Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever kissed?" He also sent messages via email such as "If you delete my love letter, I will come find you. Be careful walking at night," causing B to feel anxiety and fear.

In January, A received a provisional order from the court to stop stalking B, to stay away from B, and not to send messages to B’s email address. However, A disregarded this and sent messages criticizing B’s report to the investigation agency or suggesting dating, violating the provisional order.

Regarding this, A’s side denied the crime in court, claiming there was no intent, but the court rejected this, stating it is reasonable to see that A recognized, at least implicitly, that his actions constituted stalking.

The court pointed out, "The victim likely felt considerable anxiety and fear and is petitioning for severe punishment. The defendant committed stalking crimes against B even after being punished for sexual harassment and sexual abuse against middle school students when he was a teacher." It added, "Considering that the victim is petitioning for severe punishment, that the defendant was absent from the trial without a valid reason, and that his attitude during the trial was poor, strict punishment is inevitable," explaining the sentencing rationale.