Serial Sexual Assault Perpetrator from 19 Years Ago Caught by DNA Analysis

Arrested and Prosecuted Just Before Release

The perpetrator of a series of sexual assault cases that occurred 19 years ago in the Gyeonggi-do area has been caught through DNA analysis and brought to trial.

The Women's and Children's Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-ah) announced on the 16th that Mr. A (48) was arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (rape and injury).

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Mr. A is suspected of committing five sexual assault cases in the Gyeonggi-do area from 2005 to 2009. He was imprisoned last year on separate charges of attempted nighttime trespassing and theft and was scheduled to be released on the 9th.

The police collected Mr. A's DNA in June last year and sent it to the National Forensic Service, which confirmed that it matched the DNA found at five previously registered crime scenes.

According to the 'DNA Act' enacted in 2010 (Act on the Use and Protection of DNA Identification Information), the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the National Forensic Service each store DNA from convicted persons, detained suspects, or crime scenes in a database.

Additionally, under the amended Sexual Violence Punishment Act, the statute of limitations for sexual crimes with scientific evidence such as DNA is extended, and there is no statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children under 13 years old.

Based on this, the prosecution re-arrested Mr. A just before his release after receiving the case from the police.

Furthermore, the prosecution also arrested and indicted Mr. B (42), who was recently imprisoned for another sexual crime, on the same charges on the 25th of last month. Mr. B is accused of breaking into a house in Seoul in 2006 and molesting two minor girls.

Mr. B was scheduled to be released on the 17th of last month but was re-arrested just before release after it was confirmed that his DNA matched that from a previously stored crime scene. Mr. B initially denied all charges but confessed after an arrest warrant was issued.

A prosecution official stated, "Sex offenders were originally scheduled to be released this month and planned to live in their previous residences in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do before imprisonment, but they were re-arrested just before release." He added, "We will continue to make efforts to strictly punish sex offenders and prevent recidivism."