Trainer accused of molestation during massage ‘not guilty’… Court: “Victim’s statement is inconsistent”

A trainer in his 30s who was put on trial on charges of intentionally making physical contact with a teenage female member at a gym while providing massage and corrective exercise was found not guilty.

According to the legal community on the 27th, the 1st Criminal Division of the Western Branch of the Daegu District Court declared Mr. A, a man in his 30s, not guilty on the 25th of last month on charges of violating the Act on Sexual Protection of Children and Adolescents.

Mr. A, a gym trainer, was indicted on charges of assaulting B, a teenage member, at the gym in 2023 by offering to give her a massage.

However, Mr. A claimed that he only gave Ms. B a massage to help her stretch and correct her posture and did not molest her. Party B also took issue with the fact that the gym lights were turned off during the massage, but Person A refuted that they turned off the lights because the deadline was approaching.

The court found Ms. A’s claim more credible than Ms. B’s and declared her not guilty. This is because Ms. B's statements regarding the number, date, and method of molestation continued to change, but Ms. A maintained a consistent statement.

In addition, when Mr. A was teaching other members' exercise, he also performed the same corrective exercises as he did for Ms. B, and the place where the massage was performed was also covered by CCTV, so it was judged that Mr. A could not be considered to have committed physical contact intentionally.

Attorney Kang Hyeon-gu of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "In a situation where Mr. A denies the indictment and there is no direct evidence, only the victim's statement serves as evidence of guilt, and in this case, the rationality of the statement and objective circumstances are all taken into consideration to determine the case. We were able to be acquitted by pointing out the contradictions in Mr. B's statement along with the fact that Mr. A had lived without any problems with the members for over 10 years."

Busan reporter Jeong Cheol-wook

[View full article]
Trainer found not guilty on charges of molestation during massage... Court: “Victim’s statement is inconsistent” (Shortcut)