Elementary school teacher accused of forcibly molesting a colleague...maintains his/her position as a teacher through deferred sentencing

If an educational civil servant is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for a sex crime, he or she is subject to mandatory retirement.
Mr. A’s lawyer emphasized, “It was an accidental crime, the degree of harassment was minor, and the victim did not want to be punished.”

There was a case in which an elementary school teacher in his 40s who molested a fellow teacher while drunk received a suspended sentence and was able to return to teaching.

Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 4 Chief Judge Lee Kwang-heon postponed the sentencing of a fine of 5 million won to Mr. A, who had been tried in a criminal trial on charges of forcible harassment. Deferred sentencing is a type of criminal conviction that postpones sentencing for a certain period of time and exempts a person from punishment after that period.

Mr. A was accused of forcibly molesting the victim, Mr. B, while drinking with fellow teachers at a restaurant in Seo-gu, Gwangju in October 2023.

During the police investigation, Mr. B claimed that Mr. A, who was sitting next to him, made inappropriate physical contact, including touching his body.

It was confirmed that Mr. A was drunk at the time.

Mr. A's lawyer said at the trial, "Mr. A, who is a teacher, could lose his long-time job if he is punished for this incident," and added, "After the incident, Mr. A has been making efforts to prevent repeat offenses. In particular, please take into account the fact that he sincerely apologized to the victim and received forgiveness."

The court also accepted this and decided to postpone the fine.

Chief Judge Lee Gwang-heon explained the reason for the decision, saying, “We took into account the fact that the defendant deeply regrets his mistakes and is committed not to reoffend, and that he reached an amicable agreement with the victim and that the victim does not want to punish the defendant.”

The decision to defer sentencing allowed Mr. A to maintain his position as a faculty member.

Attorney Shim Ga-hyeon of Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan), who represented Mr. A in this case, explained, “The National Public Officials Act stipulates that if an educational public official is sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for a sex crime, he or she will be retired.” He added, “The suspended sentence was given because it was accepted that the crime was committed accidentally due to excessive drinking, that the degree of the indecent assault was relatively mild, and that the victim also did not want to be punished.”

 

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Elementary school teacher accused of forcibly molesting a colleague...maintains teacher's position through deferred sentencing (Shortcut)