Same Sentence as the First Trial
Taeil (31, real name Moon Taeil), a former member of the idol group NCT, who was taken into custody after being sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges of sexual assault, has also received a prison sentence in the second trial.
According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on October 17, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 11-3 (Presiding Judges Park Youngju, Park Jaewoo, and Jeong Moonkyung) sentenced Taeil, who was indicted on charges of aggravated quasi-rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, to three years and six months in prison, the same as the first trial.
His accomplices, surnamed Lee and Hong, were also each sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The court additionally ordered all three to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and imposed a five-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities.
Taeil was booked by the police in June last year on charges of sexually assaulting an intoxicated foreign woman together with his friends Lee and Hong. He was first summoned for questioning in August of the same year. Afterwards, his then-agency SM Entertainment officially announced Taeil's departure from the group, stating, "Recognizing the extreme seriousness of the matter, we have determined that he can no longer continue group activities."
On July 1, the first trial court stated, "The defendants sequentially raped the victim by taking advantage of her inability to resist due to intoxication, which constitutes a very serious offense," and sentenced Taeil to three years and six months in prison, ordering his immediate detention. Lee and Hong were also sentenced to three years and six months in prison and taken into custody at court.
The first trial judges criticized the defendants, saying, "The victim, a foreign tourist, suffered significant psychological trauma after being assaulted in an unfamiliar place." However, the court also noted as mitigating factors that all three defendants were first-time offenders, admitted to the crime, and reached a settlement with the victim, who did not wish to pursue punishment.
The appellate court rejected the defendants' argument that their voluntary confession should be considered as grounds for a reduced sentence, ruling that there was no issue with the original judgment.
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 subunit NCT 127.
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