High school student found not guilty on sexual assault charges... The reason given by the court was

A high school student who was put on trial on charges of forcibly sexually assaulting an elementary school student by threatening him was found not guilty.

According to the legal community on the 24th, the Jeju District Court's 2nd Criminal Division acquitted teenager A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, etc. on the 18th.

In 2024, Mr. A is accused of sexually assaulting Ms. B, an elementary school student whom he had known, by threatening to "tell people around me that I had sexual relations with him" and sending her obscene photos.

However, Person A denied the charges and claimed, “It is true that we dated Ms. B, but we were not forced into sexual intercourse.”

In addition, he raised doubts about the credibility of Ms. B's statement, pointing out that the location of the crime and the circumstances at the time were repeatedly changed.

Regarding the charge of sending obscene photos, it was emphasized that Ms. B did not show any objection at the time, but rather continued the conversation naturally.

The court ruled, “The victim’s statement is inconsistent, as the circumstances of the damage vary, and there are some contents that contradict objective facts,” and “It is possible that the victim falsely stated that she was a victim of sexual violence out of fear of being reprimanded by her guardian for her relationship with the defendant.”

He then declared Mr. A not guilty, saying, “The victim did not express any objection to the photos sent by the defendant and continued the conversation casually,” and “It cannot be seen that he sent a sexually humiliating message against the victim’s will.”

Attorney Park Yong-du of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Person A, explained, “If there is no direct evidence other than the victim’s statement, there should be no room for reasonable doubt in the statement in light of objective circumstances or rules of experience.” He added, “Based on the history of the two people’s relationship, we were able to obtain a not guilty verdict by emphasizing the lack of objectivity in Ms. B’s statement.”

Intern reporter Seo Da-hee happiness@kyeonggi.com

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High school student ‘not guilty’ of sexual assault of elementary school student… The reason revealed by the court is (link)