Four Years and Two Months in Prison for Repeated Violations of Supervision Conditions
A man in his 60s who was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet (ankle bracelet) due to a sex crime conviction violated the terms of his supervision and, just days after receiving a lenient sentence in the form of a fine, reoffended and was ultimately sentenced to prison.
On April 19, the Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon District Court (Presiding Judge Shim Hyungeun) announced that it had sentenced Mr. A (age 63), who repeatedly violated the conditions of his electronic monitoring, to four years and two months in prison.
In April of last year, Mr. A verbally abused a probation officer who was instructing him by phone to comply with the "no alcohol" directive, telling the officer, "Don't call me, you're stressing me out." He then made two more calls to complain and used abusive language. Judge Kang Myeongjung of the Yeongwol Branch of the Chuncheon District Court, who presided over the first trial, stated, "The nature of the crime is not good," but imposed a fine of 5 million won, noting that Mr. A had pledged not to verbally abuse probation officers again and had not committed any direct acts of violence.
However, just eight days after being fined, Mr. A violated the directive prohibiting him from entering adult entertainment establishments. When a probation officer requested a breathalyzer test, he responded with verbal abuse and assaulted the officer while intoxicated. After being detained in a holding cell, he became enraged at a probation officer attempting to recharge his electronic monitoring bracelet, verbally abused the officer, and interfered with the charging process. It was also revealed that Mr. A assaulted his mother, who is in her 80s, at home after she refused his demand for money.
Judge Kang, who was again assigned to Mr. A's case, stated, "He committed these offenses just eight days after receiving leniency in the form of a fine, which demonstrates extremely poor character." The judge continued, "Rather than showing genuine remorse, he has consistently made excuses, which indicates a disregard for the rule of law and a complete lack of guilt." The judge added, "Even considering the defendant's admission of guilt, there is a very strong need for a severe punishment," and sentenced him to four years in prison.
After reviewing whether the combined sentences for the previous and current cases were appropriate, the Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon District Court stated, "He has repeatedly committed various offenses and consistently made excuses, such as claiming that 'the probation officer caused him stress.'" The court increased the sentence to four years and two months in prison.
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