Stepfather in his 40s arrested for repeatedly sexually assaulting teenage stepdaughter

A man in his 40s has been arrested on charges of repeatedly sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter.

The Chungju Police Station in North Chungcheong Province said Tuesday it was sending the suspect, identified only as A, into custody on charges of sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter on multiple occasions.

A faces charges — including sexual assault within a familial relationship under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, statutory rape by deception under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, and violations of the Child Welfare Act — for allegedly assaulting his stepdaughter, identified only as B, multiple times at their home from early this year through early this month.

He also faces a separate charge of groping B at their home in 2024 under the pretext of giving her a massage.

The investigation revealed that A had assaulted B in the master bedroom even when two other elementary school-age children were present in the home. He has admitted to only some of the alleged offenses.

Police made an emergency arrest of A on Aug. 5, after B's biological mother reported the abuse upon learning of it from her daughter.

Prosecutors rejected the police's request to approve the emergency arrest, ruling that the urgency requirement had not been met given the time elapsed since the last alleged offense. They also twice returned the pre-trial detention warrant application, asking police to supplement their investigation by interviewing the elementary school-age children and others close to the suspect.