High school teacher accused of sexually harassing student... Sentence commuted in 2nd trial, why?

Sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial → reduced sentence to probation
Law “Decision is made considering the victim’s agreement”
 

A man in his 40s who was put on trial on charges of sexually harassing and abusing a student while working as a part-time high school teacher had his sentence reduced on appeal.

Seoul High Court Criminal Division 14-3 (Chief Judges Lim Jong-hyo, Park Hye-sun, Oh Young-sang) overturned the original trial that sentenced Mr.

The original trial's order restricting the child from completing 40 hours each of the sexual violence treatment program and child abuse treatment program and from employment at organizations related to children, youth, and the disabled for 5 years was maintained.

Mr. A is accused of molesting his student, Miss B, at school 20 times over a period of about 7 months from 2022 to the following year.

At the trial, Mr. A claimed, “Because I am friendly with the students, there was physical contact in a playful manner during class,” but that “there was no intentional molestation, such as groping, as the victim claimed.”

The first trial found Mr. A guilty on all charges and sentenced him to prison. The court explained the reason for the sentencing, saying, “The defendant, who is a teacher and is obligated to report crimes such as sex crimes and child abuse, bears even greater guilt in that he repeatedly committed crimes against the victim.”

The appellate court found Mr. A guilty on all charges, as in the first trial. However, the fact that Mr. A admitted to most of the crimes and reached an agreement with the victim served as grounds for a reduced sentence.

The appellate court ruled that “there was a significant change in the sentencing grounds of the original trial,” and that “since the victim also expressed the opinion that he did not want the defendant to be punished, we judged this in his favor.”

Attorney Kim Myeong-cheol of Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan), who is Mr. A's legal representative, explained, "If a teacher who has a duty to protect and supervise students commits a sex crime against a student, he or she is subject to aggravated punishment. In the case of Mr. A, he was sentenced to prison in the first trial and it was difficult to overturn it. However, as a result of helping reach an agreement with the victim in the appeal trial, he was able to avoid the prison sentence with a suspended sentence."

At the same time, Attorney Kim added, "Normally, if a prison sentence is imposed in the first trial, there is a high possibility that the person will be detained by the court. Although the agreement with the victim has an effect on the sentence, factors other than whether or not there was agreement may result in a more severe punishment. You must consider all of these points and then respond to expect a favorable result."

Reporter Kim Jong-cheol (jckim99@sportsseoul.com)

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