Taeil, Former NCT Member, Sentenced to 3 Years and 6 Months in Prison for Sexual Offense and Taken Into Custody in First Trial

Sentenced to Three Years and Six Months in Prison, Taken Into Custody in Court
"Foreign Victim Suffered Great Distress in an Unfamiliar Place... The Nature of the Crime Is Extremely Serious"

Taeil (31, real name Moon Taeil), a singer formerly of the idol group NCT, who was put on trial on charges of sexual offenses, has been found guilty in the first trial and sentenced to prison.

On July 10, the 26th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Hyunkyung) sentenced Taeil and his accomplices, identified as Lee and Hong, to three years and six months in prison each, on charges of aggravated quasi-rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. Taeil, who had been tried without detention since being indicted on February 28, was immediately taken into custody in court.

I am Taeyil, a former member of NCT. SM Entertainment.

The court also ordered them to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program, and imposed a five-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities.

The court stated, "The defendants took advantage of the victim's inability to resist due to intoxication and committed sexual acts in succession, which is extremely serious in nature," adding, "The victim, being a foreign tourist, is likely to have suffered significant psychological distress from being subjected to a crime in an unfamiliar place."

However, the court also considered as mitigating factors that all defendants had no prior criminal record, admitted to the crime, and reached a settlement with the victim, who did not wish to pursue punishment. Taeil, along with his friends Lee and Hong, was indicted without detention in March on charges of sexually assaulting an intoxicated foreign woman in June of last year. Subsequently, Taeil's then-agency, SM Entertainment, announced his departure from the team, stating, "Recognizing the gravity of the matter, we determined that he could no longer continue activities with the group."

Taeil debuted in 2016 as a member of NCT U, a unit of NCT, and was active as a member of both NCT and its sub-group NCT 127.