Victim's Testimony Overlooked by Police in North Jeolla Private University Professor Sexual Crime Case
Prosecution Requests Police Reinvesitgation
In a case involving allegations of sexual crimes by a professor at a private university in North Jeolla Province, the police dismissed the case without referral to the prosecution after accepting only the professor's testimony and disregarding the victim's account. However, the prosecution has requested a reinvestigation after it was confirmed that the victim was in a dire situation at the time of the report.
Text messages exchanged between the victim and a police officer. Yonhap News, provided by the victim's side.
According to Yonhap News on August 29, the Jeongeup Branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had requested the police to reinvestigate the case, stating that there were problems with the police investigation, which had resulted in a decision not to refer the case involving allegations of sexual crimes by a professor at a private university in North Jeolla Province.
Professor A of a private university in North Jeolla Province is suspected of molesting and coercing quasi-sexual acts on an acquaintance, referred to as B, at a house in Gochang County in mid-June.
According to the report filed at the time, which was confirmed with the victim's consent, B, who was subjected to forcible molestation and other acts by Professor A, fled to the bathroom and sent a text message to 112 (the emergency number). B informed the police that she was in a remote location, saying, "I can't get a good signal here. Please help me."
Because perpetrators of sexual crimes are often near the victim at the time of the report, police officers frequently provide guidance via text message rather than by phone call.
The police officer at the time asked about features of the house to locate the victim and instructed, "Lock the bathroom door and hold your phone out the window." However, B replied, "There is no window," and pleaded, "I'm scared. Please come quickly."
The text messages exchanged between the police officer and B capture the tension of the situation. B wrote, "(Professor A) is knocking on the bathroom door. I'm scared. He keeps knocking," urgently requesting a rapid response. She sent "Please help me" three times, but these messages did not reach the police due to poor signal reception.
It was only 15 minutes after the report that B received police protection and was transferred to the Sunflower Center, an institution supporting victims of sexual crimes. The center's counselor wrote in a report that B was "overwhelmed by negative emotions such as anxiety and depression, with a high risk of suicide," and that "she was in considerable confusion, feeling as though she could never escape the pain."
On the day of the report, Professor A repeatedly called B late at night, and when she did not answer, he continued to attempt contact through social networking services (SNS). Professor A also sent text messages offering to "help with business" and asking for forgiveness and understanding for his actions.
However, the police ignored the circumstances at the time of the report, the victim's statement, and the professional institution's report, choosing instead to trust Professor A's claim that "it was consensual," and concluded there was no crime. As a result, the Jeongeup Branch of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office reviewed the records and determined that there was a need to re-examine the case, requesting a reinvestigation by the North Jeolla Provincial Police Agency.
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