Teen who gave birth in toilet and left baby to die gets suspended sentence on appeal

An appeals court reduced the sentence of a teenager who gave birth in her home bathroom and left the newborn to die, citing her psychological distress at the time.

The first criminal division of Suwon High Court, presided over by Judge Shin Hyeon-il, on Wednesday overturned the lower court's sentence of two years and six months to two years in prison for the defendant, identified only as A, who was charged with violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse resulting in death). The court instead handed down a two-year prison term suspended for three years.

The court also ordered A to complete a 40-hour child abuse treatment program.

The appeals court said A was a high school student at the time of the offense and was mentally and socially immature. It added that when she discovered she was pregnant, she received no help from her boyfriend and was unable to tell her family, leaving her without proper medical care before she suddenly went into labor.

"It appears that the defendant, in a state of psychological shock and anxiety immediately after giving birth, was unable to respond appropriately, which led to the offense," the court said, adding that mitigating circumstances made the original sentence somewhat excessive.

A was 17 years old in September 2024 when she gave birth in the toilet of a bathroom in her home in Gyeonggi Province and left the newborn unattended, causing its death. The infant was found submerged in the toilet and had been left there for about an hour.

A's defense argued during the trial that she had been in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time.

The lower court rejected that argument, ruling that she did not appear to have had impaired decision-making ability due to a mental disorder, and handed down a prison sentence.