Sentencing for the Appellate Trial Scheduled for the 18th of Next Month
In the appellate trial of a special education teacher accused of emotionally abusing the son of webtoon artist Ju Ho-min, the prosecution requested the court to overturn the original ruling that had suspended the imposition of a fine.
On the 21st, during the appellate trial's closing arguments for special education teacher A, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes and the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act, the prosecution made this claim and, as in the original sentencing, demanded 10 months imprisonment and a 3-year employment restriction.
The prosecution explained the reason for the demand, stating, "In this case, the defendant, who is obligated to report child abuse crimes, instead emotionally abused the child, making the nature of the crime extremely egregious. However, the defendant denies the crime and shows no remorse. Efforts to restore the damage have not been made, and forgiveness has not been obtained from the victim child’s side."
In his final statement, A said, "One day, suddenly, the terrible and unbelievable shocking word 'child abuse defendant' pointed at me and accused me," adding, "Looking back on my 20 years of teaching, although I was not perfect every moment, I do not believe I was a shameful teacher. No matter how many times I think about it, I am not a child abuser."
On this day, A’s lawyer argued that the original court’s recognition of the evidentiary value of the 'secret recording' contained in a recorder sent by the victim child’s parents to the child was a wrong judgment under Article 4 of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act. He said, "Article 4 of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act in our country stipulates that any secretly recorded audio files or results obtained cannot be used in any form of litigation," adding, "Recognizing the evidentiary value of the recording file in this case is an interpretation so extreme that it can be seen as the first trial court creating a regulation not prescribed by law."
On the other hand, the prosecution countered that, considering that the parents of the autistic child had no choice but to secretly record to confirm child abuse, the evidentiary value of the recording file in this case should be recognized. Furthermore, regarding the first trial court’s judgment that did not acknowledge the intent of abuse in some statements, the prosecution argued, "Autistic children have a low auditory threshold and are sensitive to sound stimuli, and speaking in a loud, irritated voice directly in front of them acts as a stress factor," adding, "The defendant, as a special education teacher, is a person with a high level of understanding and expertise on this matter. Even if only implicitly, there is intent to abuse."
Ju’s legal representative, who attended the trial that day, said, "Victims usually record and are too scared to check immediately. That is rather natural," adding, "Generally, children who have suffered child abuse cannot forget the emotional wounds caused by emotional abuse more than physical abuse. It is regrettable that we cannot hear the victim child’s feelings."
Earlier, A was indicted without detention on charges of emotionally abusing Ju’s son (then 9 years old) on September 13, 2022, in a customized learning class at an elementary school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, by saying, "You have very bad manners. Ugh, I hate it. I hate you to death. I hate you. I hate you too. Really hate you."
The investigation began after Ju’s side placed a recorder in his son’s coat and sent him to school, and based on the recorded content, reported A to the police on charges of child abuse.
The court will hold the sentencing hearing for this case on the afternoon of the 18th of next month.
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