Taeil (31, Moon Taeil), a former member of the idol group NCT, has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison after being convicted of sexual assault.
According to the legal community on December 27, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Seo Kyunghwan) dismissed the appeals filed by Taeil and his friends, identified as Lee and Hong, who were indicted on charges of aggravated rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, thereby upholding the original verdict.
They were also ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment programs and were banned from working at institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities for five years.
The three were put on trial for sexually assaulting a foreign woman who was intoxicated. Taeil was booked by the police in June of last year and underwent his first investigation in August. At the time, his agency, SM Entertainment, officially announced Taeil's withdrawal from the group, citing the seriousness of the incident.
The court of first instance stated, "The victim was in a state of helplessness due to intoxication, and the defendants committed the assault in succession. The nature of the crime is extremely grave," sentencing Taeil to three years and six months in prison and ordering his immediate detention.
The appellate court upheld the sentence and dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court also rejected the further appeal by Taeil and the others.
In its ruling, the court pointed out that the victim was a foreign tourist who suffered significant psychological distress after being subjected to a crime in an unfamiliar place.
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