Hiding a sexually transmitted disease and having sex... 20-year-old found not guilty after infecting ex-lover

Man A, sentenced to a summary fine on charges of causing injury... Request for formal trial
The court said, “It is difficult to say that the injury was intentional.”

A man who was put on trial for intentionally spreading a sexually transmitted disease to his ex-lover was found not guilty.

On March 27, the Daejeon District Court found Mr. A, in his 20s, not guilty on charges of causing injury.

In 2021, Mr. A was accused of transmitting a sexually transmitted disease by having sexual intercourse several times with his former lover, Mr. B, with whom he was dating at the time, while hiding the fact that he was infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

The prosecution deemed the charges acceptable and issued a summary indictment with a fine of 3 million won. The court also issued a summary order, but Mr. A, who refused to comply, requested a formal trial.

During the trial, Mr. A completely denied the charges. As a result of receiving consistent treatment after being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease in the past, both test results were negative, and he continued to take medication to prevent infection. He also claimed that he used contraceptives at the time and acted to prevent infection, such as refusing sex when suspicious symptoms appeared.

The court found Mr. A not guilty. The court said, “It appears that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim before revealing that he had a history of sexually transmitted diseases,” but added, “The defendant did not feel any special symptoms after receiving a negative test result, and it is difficult to say that there was an intention to cause injury, such as taking medication to prepare for the possibility.”

He added, “When symptoms appeared, the defendant explained his situation to the victim, and after that, the two continued to have a relationship, and in the process, he did not use contraceptives without the victim’s consent.”

In addition, the court emphasized, “The victim only learned of her infection after receiving a sexually transmitted disease test four months later. Even if she was infected by the defendant, we cannot rule out the possibility that the time of illness occurred after she was notified of her infection.”

Attorney Kim Jin-ju of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, “Mr. B’s statement had loopholes, such as not matching the objective situation,” and added, “We were able to refute the other party’s claims based on objective data such as hospital medical certificates and conversation history, and it was recognized that there was no charge of injury.”
 

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

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Hide sexually transmitted diseases and have sex... A man in his 20s is innocent of infecting his ex-lover (link)