A judge presiding over the appeal of five teenagers convicted of gang-assaulting and sexually abusing a female classmate sharply rebuked the defendants' parents in court, as the case drew renewed attention after a lower court handed down sentences of up to six years in prison.
Kim Jin-hwan, a senior judge on the First Criminal Division of the Gwangju High Court, expressed outrage over the charges during the final appeal hearing for five defendants — including a girl identified as A and a boy identified as B — charged with violating the Act on Punishment of Violent Acts and the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse. "Parents of the defendants, how could something like this happen?" Kim said.
The five, who were friends or upperclassmen and underclassmen of one another, carried out roughly two hours of gang assault, abuse and sex crimes against a female peer identified as C in June last year, according to Newsis.
The investigation found that four students — boys and girls who gathered at A's suggestion — dragged C into a park restroom on her way home from school, hurling verbal abuse and beating her. They then moved to a secluded emergency stairwell in a nearby building, where they repeatedly struck her face, neck and shoulders. They tied her legs with shoelaces, scrawled sexual words on her face and spat on her.
Boys and girls took turns in the assault. B, who arrived later, joined in by choking C and kicking her. Another female student burned C with a lit cigarette.
A sexually assaulted C, coerced her into sexual acts and filmed the abuse on a mobile phone, while three male students watched with threatening words and gestures, the investigation found. At A's suggestion, B then committed a sex crime against C, and another male student aided the offense by handing over a contraceptive, calling it a "gift."
The abuse did not stop there. A took C back to the park's women's restroom and forced her to drink water mixed with hand sanitizer, while the male students kept watch nearby.
C sustained a concussion and multiple contusions requiring two weeks of medical treatment. The perpetrators carried out the attack because they believed C had been spreading rumors about them.
The lower court found that the defendants had "gang-assaulted, sexually abused and committed or abetted sex crimes against the victim, making the nature of the offenses extremely grave." It added that "the victim suffered such severe shock that she was unable to attend school, and her physical and mental anguish must have been extreme."
The court also noted that the victim had refused to accept a court-deposited payment and was demanding harsh punishment. It sentenced A, the ringleader, to between three years and six months and five years in prison, and B, who committed the sex crime, to between four and six years. The three other accomplices each received sentences ranging from two years and six months to three years at the minimum, and four to four years and six months at the maximum.
All five defendants and prosecutors appealed the lower court ruling. The appeals court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on July 16.
bbo@heraldcorp.com
