“Different male genes detected”... A man in his 40s found not guilty on charges of sexual intercourse with a minor.

Meeting through a chat app... “I don’t have sex” Denial
Judge: “Possible confusion with someone else”

An office worker in his 40s who was accused of having sex with a middle school student he met through a chat app was found not guilty.

On the 17th of last month, the Daegu District Court found Mr. A, a man who had been put on trial on charges of rape of a minor, not guilty. Mr. A was accused of having sexual intercourse with B, a middle school girl, at a motel in 2023, despite knowing that she was a minor.

However, Mr. A admitted that they entered the lodging establishment together, but refuted that they did not have sexual intercourse. Ms. B's tone and behavior were strange, so she tried to escape, but Ms. B screamed and blocked her. He also claimed that he did not know her exact age because her age was not properly recorded in the profile of the app through which she communicated with Ms. B.

The court found him not guilty. The court judged, “The victim met several men over a short period of time, and the genes of men other than the defendant were detected in the victim’s clothes.” “While the victim made detailed statements about her relationships with other people, her statements about the defendant somewhat lacked consistency and specificity.”

He added, “We cannot rule out the possibility that the victim confused the defendant with another person and made the statement,” and added, “It is difficult to reject the defendant’s claim of innocence and say that there is enough credibility to be certain that the facts of the indictment are true.”

Lawyer Jeon Hyeong-oh of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, “For an adult to be guilty of rape of a minor, he must have intention, knowing that the other person was under the age of 16. In this case, Mr. A had absolutely no physical opportunity to attempt sexual intercourse with Ms. B. This was proven based on data such as genetic testing and the victim’s statement.”

Digital Content Team

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“Detection of other male genes”… A man in his 40s found not guilty on charges of sexual intercourse with a minor (link)