[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A man in his 30s has received a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of buying sex from a teenager.

The Uijeongbu District Court's Criminal Division 13, presided over by Judge Kim Seong-sik, sentenced the man, identified only as A, to one year in prison suspended for two years. A had been indicted without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse.

A is accused of meeting a teenage girl, identified as B, through KakaoTalk's open chat feature and taking her to a hotel in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, in January last year, where he had sexual intercourse with her and paid her 100,000 won ($67) — conduct the court characterized as sexual abuse causing humiliation.

"The defendant paid for and purchased the sexuality of the victim, a child or youth with limited judgment, in order to satisfy a distorted sexual desire," the court said. "The criminal responsibility is not light, and the victim has not forgiven him."

The court said it had weighed all sentencing factors in determining the punishment, including that A had admitted to the offense and pledged not to reoffend.


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