Man in His 20s Who Contacted an Elementary Student Offering Transportation Money Cleared of Charges

A man in his 20s who proposed an offline meeting to an elementary student on the pretext of covering transportation costs was investigated on charges of attempted enticement of a minor, but the prosecution issued a non-indictment decision citing insufficient evidence.

The Daegu District Prosecutors' Office announced that on the 1st of last month it issued a no-charges decision for Mr. A, a man in his 20s who had been referred on charges of attempted enticement of a minor.

Mr. A was accused of promising an offline meeting last May with elementary student Ms. B, whom he had met in an open chat room, by sending messages such as "I'll pay all your transportation costs" and "Let's go to a manga cafe." However, on the day of the appointment, Ms. B's biological mother confirmed the fact and blocked the meeting, so it did not lead to actual contact.

During the investigation, Mr. A fully denied the charges. Mr. A argued that he had merely formed an emotional bond by listening to the counseling of Ms. B, who had complained of depression and domestic violence, and had no improper purpose or intent to entice.

After comprehensively reviewing Ms. B's statement and the content of the conversations between the two sides, the prosecution judged it difficult to conclude that Mr. A had tried to entice a minor by providing economic benefits or conveniences.

In particular, the prosecution explained that it had been confirmed that Ms. B had continuously consulted Mr. A about her own domestic violence victimization and greatly relied on him mentally, and that there were circumstances confirming she felt romantic affection toward Mr. A and tried to go meet him of her own accord.

Choi Ji-hoon, attorney (Daeryun LLC) representing Mr. A, explained, "Cases involving minors should not be judged merely by the fact of contact between an adult and a minor, but must comprehensively examine the specific purpose of the act and the relationship between the parties."

He added, "By closely analyzing the record of sent and received messages and the psychological dependency between the parties, we explained this to the investigative agency, and as a result were able to prevent an innocent person from being punished."

Reporter Hwang Jeong-won (garden@sidae.com)

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