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A man in his 60s who betrayed his duty as a school principal by sexually abusing elementary school students between the ages of 6 and 11 has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a four-year prison sentence for a 63-year-old man, identified only as A, who was convicted under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes for molesting minors under 13 and under the Child Abuse Punishment Act for child abuse by a childcare facility worker. The court dismissed his final appeal, confirming the lower court's ruling.

A was indicted on charges of using his authority to molest 10 victims under the age of 13 approximately 250 times — in his principal's office and on the school grounds — between early April and late December 2023, and of subjecting them to ongoing sexual harassment and abuse.

A had served as principal since September 2022 and was legally required to report child abuse. Instead of protecting his students, he targeted children who had not yet developed a sense of sexual autonomy, making them victims of sex crimes.

All but two of the offenses took place in his principal's office; the remaining two occurred on the school grounds.

The crimes came to light after friends of one victim filmed the abuse to help her and created a group chat to gather evidence and discuss how to respond. Several other victims, upon hearing that a fellow student had also been abused, came forward to their parents about their own experiences.

The first-instance court found all charges proven, citing the victims' consistent testimony, and sentenced A to eight years in prison.

A appealed, arguing that nearly 200 of the approximately 250 alleged incidents were described so vaguely that they violated his right to mount a defense and could not be considered properly specified charges.

The appellate court agreed in part, finding that roughly 180 of the incidents included in the indictment were figures mechanically calculated from statements by child victims who told investigators they had been abused "almost every day, or two to three times a week."

The court dismissed the charges relating to those incidents and reduced the sentence to four years.

A appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court rejected his appeal.


husn7@heraldcorp.com