Court cites defendant's attempt to downplay offense, victim's ongoing psychiatric treatment
A former law professor at a private university was sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting a graduate student he had been supervising.
Judge Jeong A-yeong of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced the defendant, a man in his 60s identified only as A, to one year and six months in prison Thursday and ordered him taken into custody in the courtroom on charges of forcible indecent assault.
"The evidence submitted supports a guilty verdict on the charges," Judge Jeong said, adding that detailed reasoning would not be disclosed in open court given the nature of the sex crime.
On sentencing, Judge Jeong said she would share only part of her reasoning, noting that the defendant "appears to be downplaying the circumstances of the offense, raising doubts about whether he is truly remorseful." She added that the victim "appears to have suffered considerable psychological distress, having directly confronted the defendant and sought psychiatric treatment at the time of the incident."
The judge also noted that the victim's life on campus had been significantly disrupted, and that she had not forgiven the defendant and still wished to see him punished.
However, Judge Jeong acknowledged that the defendant had admitted to the physical contact itself and shown some signs of remorse. She also noted that he had lost his professorship at the university where he had worked for 33 years as a result of the case, that his age required ongoing medical treatment, and that while no settlement had been reached with the victim, he had deposited 30 million won ($22,400) with the court. That deposit was given only limited consideration, as the victim had refused to accept it.
"Even taking these mitigating factors into account, the offense is serious — a supervising professor committed a sex crime against his own student," the court said, concluding that a prison term was warranted given that the defendant continued to deny the main charges.
A faces charges of forcibly assaulting a student enrolled in his graduate program. Prosecutors indicted him in February, at which point the university suspended him from his position.
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