[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A man in his 60s who groped and attempted to abduct a middle school girl on her way home has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Jeju District Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Chief Judge Seo Beom-uk, sentenced the man, identified only as A, to five years in prison on charges including violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse through forcible indecency. A had been indicted while in detention.

The court also ordered his personal information to be disclosed and reported to authorities for 10 years, barred him from working at institutions serving children, juveniles and people with disabilities for 10 years, and required him to wear an electronic monitoring anklet for 10 years.

A was indicted on charges of groping middle school student B from behind in the underground parking lot of a residential building in Jeju on May 19, and attempting — though failing — to drag her away for the purpose of further assault.

B managed to flee and told her parents what had happened. Police who responded to the report arrested A on the spot.

A also faces charges of stealing 50,000 won ($37) in cash on May 17 of the same month, as well as two counts of attempted theft. Investigators found that he had committed the offenses during a repeat-offender period, having been released from prison at the end of last year.

A's defense attorney appealed to the court for leniency, citing A's intoxication at the time of the offenses and his financial difficulties.

The court said the victim appeared to have suffered considerable trauma, making appropriate punishment unavoidable. It added that the theft offenses also warranted significant punishment, given that they were reoffenses committed during a repeat-offender period for the same type of crime.


choigo@heraldcorp.com