Long-term Unsolved Child Molester of 18 Years Rearrested the Day Before Release

2006 Child Sexual Assault Charges Against Two Children
Arrested One Day Before Release Through DNA Analysis

A sex offender who was about to be released from prison was identified as the suspect in a long-unsolved child sexual assault case that had remained unsolved for 18 years through DNA matching, and was re-arrested.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 17th, Yonhap News reported that the Women and Children Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-ah) obtained an arrest warrant for A (42) on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (special forcible molestation, etc.) the day before.

A is accused of breaking into a house in Seoul in 2006 and threatening and molesting two children, aged 9 and 11 at the time, with a weapon. Although the perpetrator's DNA was left at the scene, the identity was never confirmed, and the case remained unsolved thereafter.

Last November, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office confirmed that the DNA found and preserved at the crime scene matched that of A, who was in prison, which provided a breakthrough in the case. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the National Forensic Service store DNA collected from crime scenes, convicted persons of certain crimes, and detained suspects in accordance with the 'DNA Identification Information Utilization Act' enacted in 2010.

A was imprisoned in 2022 for another sexual crime and was about to be released on the 17th after serving his full sentence. The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul re-investigated the case, classified as unsolved, and transferred it to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on the 5th. Considering A's scheduled release due to sentence expiration, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant on the 12th. The Seoul Southern District Court issued the warrant citing "risk of flight," and A was re-incarcerated on the 16th, one day before his scheduled release.

According to the revised Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, there is no statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children under 13 years old if the statute of limitations was not completed before June 2013, making prosecution of A possible.

A prosecution official stated, "The child sexual violence crime was concealed and the offender almost returned to society, but the suspect was re-arrested through swift investigation," adding, "We will continue to make efforts to strictly punish high-risk serious sexual offenders and prevent recidivism."