Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse | Acquittal Obtained on Appeal in a Quasi-Rape Case Involving a Child or Youth, Reversing an Imprisonment Sentence, by Arguing Inconsistencies in the Victim's Statements

In the first police interview, the victim stated, "My friends and I were drinking, and then the client arrived," but in the second interview, she changed her statement to say, "When the client arrived, my friends had already gone home."

By contrast, the client consistently stated from the outset that 'other friends were also present,' and so we pointed out that the victim's statements were not consistent and challenged their credibility.

If a quasi-rape had occurred as the victim claimed, it would be likely that the client left before the victim woke up.

However, in reality, CCTV footage was secured showing the two having lunch together and going home together the next day, which proved that this did not match the victim's claim at all.

The attorney specializing in sexual offense cases presented the point that, after the alleged incident, the victim and the client exchanged messages on several occasions and continued ordinary interactions, such as going to the cinema together.

This was a circumstance inconsistent with the victim's claim that she had "suffered serious psychological shock."

The victim reported the matter one year after the incident occurred, and while claiming that she had been highly intoxicated at the time, she stated that she "remembered the detailed scenes of the harm specifically."

In addition, her statements differed across both of the two police interviews and the prosecutorial interview.

This variability was presented as a factor that raised the possibility of memory distortion and of a false report.

Relying on Supreme Court Decision 2023Do13081, which held that "where the defendant has consistently denied the offense itself, there is no direct evidence, and, considering as a whole the reasonableness, validity, and objective circumstances of the victim's statement, a reasonable doubt is not excluded, the defendant must be found not guilty," we constructed the argument that guilt could not be established on the victim's statement alone.

The Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse is a law intended to protect children and youth under 19 years of age from sexual exploitation, abuse, and enticement.

It provides for punishment more severe than the Criminal Act for all acts committed against minors whose right to sexual self-determination has not been fully formed.

A case involving a violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse is far more complex than an ordinary criminal case, because the victim's statement governs the judgment.

In such cases, the attorney does not simply argue the defendant's innocence but interprets the changes in the statement, the objective circumstances, and the legal structure as a whole.

An attorney specializing in sexual offense cases provides substantive assistance in the following respects.

· Response to initial statements: preventing unfavorable expressions at the police investigation stage

· Reconstruction of evidence: systematizing the credibility of the statements, the absence of physical evidence, and the reasoning for the non-existence of the act

· Establishment of an appeal strategy: identifying the logical errors in the first-instance judgment and maximizing the possibility of acquittal

In a case under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse, a single inconsistency in the statements or a single piece of circumstantial evidence can overturn the judgment.

Accordingly, with the assistance of an attorney specializing in sexual offense cases who combines legal responsiveness with experience, the truth can be revealed even with respect to a wrongful charge.

In this case, the facts were re-examined through the appeal assistance of an attorney specializing in sexual offense cases at Daeryun Law Firm, and an acquittal was ultimately pronounced.

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