Physical therapist gets 18 months for molesting sleeping patient during treatment

A physical therapist who molested a female patient during a manual therapy session received a prison sentence in a first-trial ruling.

According to Yonhap, the Jeonju District Court's 11th Criminal Division sentenced A, 53, a physical therapist, to one year and six months in prison on Wednesday. Judge Lee Young-eun, who presided over the case, also ordered three years of probation. A had been indicted without physical detention on charges of quasi-forcible molestation.

A, a licensed physical therapist, was indicted on charges of molesting a female patient, identified as B, during a manual therapy session. He allegedly touched her intimate body parts while she was asleep.

He argued that while he did press on the patient's groin area as part of the treatment, he did not molest her.

His defense held that manual therapy involves stretching and manipulating a patient's joints and muscles, so physical contact occurred but without any sexual intent.

The court, however, said, "The victim's statements are specific and consistent to a degree that would be difficult to achieve without having directly experienced the circumstances, location and manner of the molestation."

The court went on to say that there were no contradictions in her account of the events before and after the incident. It added that she had no apparent motive to falsely accuse the defendant. "Furthermore, the defendant has a prior conviction for committing a sex crime during physical therapy treatment in 2015," the court noted.

"The victim suffered considerable psychological trauma from this incident, yet the defendant shows no remorse and claims the allegations are false," the court said, adding, "We sentence him to actual imprisonment and detain him in court given the risk of flight."