A soldier in his 20s assigned to Marine Corps headquarters sentenced to prison

Suspect lay in junior soldier's bed and made physical contact with buttocks

Busan District Court [Yonhap]
Busan District Court [Yonhap]

A Marine Corps senior soldier who sexually assaulted and repeatedly attacked junior soldiers during military service has been sentenced to prison and taken into custody in the courtroom.

The soldier argued the conduct was merely a prank meant to put a struggling junior at ease, but the court rejected the claim.

According to legal sources Friday, the sixth criminal division of Busan District Court, presided over by Judge Im Seong-cheol, sentenced A, a soldier in his 20s, to one year in prison on charges of forcible indecent acts and assault against fellow soldiers on duty, and ordered A taken into custody immediately. The court also ordered A to complete a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program.

A was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting two junior soldiers and assaulting one of them on multiple occasions while serving at Marine Corps headquarters last year.

On May 9 last year, A climbed into the bed of junior soldier B in the unit's living quarters and rubbed a specific body part against B's buttocks, among other acts of sexual assault. A also faced charges of assaulting another junior soldier, C, on multiple occasions between early April and June 25 of the same year, and of running a hand down C's chest in an act of sexual assault.

During the trial, A said the conduct amounted to nothing more than lying side by side in bed and talking with B, who was having difficulty adjusting to military life, and denied any sexual assault had taken place.

Regarding the assaults on C, A denied the charges, saying the conduct "was a prank for the sake of camaraderie" and that there had been no intent to commit sexual assault.

The court, however, found A guilty on all counts, saying the victims' accounts were specific and consistent and that the conduct could not be dismissed as a simple prank given the hierarchical relationship between senior and junior soldiers.

"Given the strict chain of command and the closed nature of military life, it is extremely difficult for a junior soldier to immediately refuse physical contact from a senior," the court said. "This was an act that exploited the superior position of a senior soldier and cannot be viewed as a prank between equals."

The court added that "the victims, who enlisted to fulfill their duty to national defense, had no reason whatsoever to suffer such harm during their service," and cited A's insistence that the conduct was nothing more than a prank, evasion of responsibility, and failure to take any steps toward making amends as factors in the sentencing.


jshan@heraldcorp.com