"Arms Linked, Holding Hands"…Man in His 20s Facing 'Rape Charge' Receives Non-Prosecution Disposition

A man in his 20s facing a charge of raping a university junior denied the charge, saying "It was a consensual relationship with no coercion"
Reviewing case circumstances such as messenger and CCTV, prosecution finds…"the victim's statement lacks credibility"

A man in his 20s who was referred to the prosecution on a rape charge received a non-prosecution disposition on grounds including that the credibility of the complainant's statement was difficult to acknowledge.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office determined on the 16th of last month that there was no charge against Mr. A, a man in his 20s who had been referred on a rape charge, and issued a non-prosecution disposition.

Mr. A was accused of rape after having sexual relations at his residence in August last year with Ms. B, a woman in her 20s who was a university junior.

During the investigation, Mr. A admitted to the sexual relations themselves but denied the charge, saying it was not carried out through assault or intimidation and that there was no coercion. In particular, he stated, "Ms. B first told me to lie down next to her and sleep, and put her legs over my body, so the relationship took place by mutual consent."

After comprehensively reviewing the circumstances before and after the incident and the content of both parties' conversations, the prosecution found it difficult to acknowledge Mr. A's charge based solely on the complainant's statement.

The prosecution judged that, when examining the messenger conversations and call records exchanged between the suspect and the victim immediately after the incident, the victim's statements were not consistent, and it was hard to accept that the victim—while stating she had felt fear from the suspect's unwanted physical contact before the incident—had drunk so much that she did not even know how she came to move to the suspect's home.

Also, considering scenes in CCTV footage right after the incident in which the two linked arms or held hands, this factored into the finding that the victim's statement lacked credibility.

Attorney Lee Tae-seung of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, stated, "Under criminal law, proving a suspect's charge requires strict proof 'to the degree that leaves no room for reasonable doubt,' and in this case, we diligently demonstrated the circumstances casting doubt on the credibility of the complainant's statement—effectively the only evidence—and were thus able to obtain a non-prosecution disposition."

Reporter Lee Sil-yu lsy0808@kyeonggi.com

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"Arms Linked, Holding Hands"…Man in His 20s Facing 'Rape Charge' Receives Non-Prosecution Disposition (Go to link)