Prosecutors Present Evidence of Crime Reflected on Washing Machine Lid
Defendant Who Completely Denied Charges Faces Additional Sexual Crime Allegations
Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison on Appeal
A man in his 20s who had completely denied allegations of sexual assault was sentenced to a heavy prison term after a scene of the assault reflected on the washing machine lid was accepted as evidence.
According to Yonhap News on the 23rd, the Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Lee Eun-hye) announced that it sentenced A (24), who was indicted on charges including rape, statutory rape of a minor, violation of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, special confinement, and forced molestation, to seven years in prison. Along with this, the court also imposed a seven-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and the disabled, and ordered the attachment of an electronic tracking device (electronic anklet) for seven years.
A was tried on charges of raping B, his girlfriend at the time, six times between March and April of last year. According to the indictment, after being caught with nude photos and sexual videos of women on his cellphone and being notified of their breakup, he found B the next day, confined her for a long time, and raped her.
During the prosecution investigation, A completely denied the charges. Although the victim submitted a 39-minute video, only two minutes showed the two people. However, after carefully analyzing the video, the prosecution confirmed that the remaining 37 minutes of the scene were reflected on the plastic lid of the washing machine in the video, and after enhancing the image quality and conducting expert examination, they found decisive evidence. Faced with the evidence, A eventually confessed to all charges. The prosecution also identified other sexual crimes committed by A and brought them to trial.
A was being tried without detention for raping a minor who had not reached the age of consent, as well as for raping his girlfriend at the time in 2022 and threatening to distribute sexual videos. In addition to these victims, charges of forcibly molesting a woman he met through an acquaintance were added to the indictment. Ultimately, A, who was brought to trial in custody, denied some of the crimes, but the court found him guilty of all charges.
The Chuncheon District Court Yeongwol Branch, which handled the first trial, sentenced him to eight years in prison, stating, "Despite being on trial for a long time for sexual violence crimes, the defendant did not show remorse and repeatedly committed various sexual violence crimes against the victims."
Reviewing the claims from both sides that "the sentence is unfair," the appellate court slightly reduced the sentence, considering that the defendant reached an additional settlement with one of the victims. The court pointed out, "The defendant's criminal nature is very bad, and throughout the investigation process, he consistently made excuses, counter-sued the victim to psychologically pressure her, and the circumstances after the crime are also unfavorable, making severe punishment inevitable." It added, "The defendant confessed to all crimes at the appellate trial and showed remorse, had no prior criminal record before these crimes, and reached an additional settlement with one victim at the appellate trial, so the sentence was determined comprehensively."
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