Chuncheon Law Office Case | Chuncheon Law Office Proves No Suspicion of Crime for a Client Wrongfully Accused of Child Abuse

🔗Child abuse refers to conduct in which an adult, including a guardian, harms the health or welfare of a child or commits an act such as assault against the child.

Abandonment or neglect by a guardian also constitutes child abuse.

A person who inflicts physical or emotional abuse may be subject to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

In addition, when the offense is committed by a guardian who has a duty to protect the child, such as a parent, a teacher, or an instructor, the punishment is aggravated.

Although the amendment of the Child Welfare Act has strengthened the punishment imposed on those who commit prohibited acts, there are also cases in which innocent people suffer harm as a result.

The complainant claimed that, in the CCTV footage, the client sat with the client's back to the camera and assaulted the child while putting the child to sleep.

In that footage, because the client is seated with the client's back to the camera, the child cannot be seen clearly.

The Chuncheon law office argued that the focus should be on the client's movements.

In the footage, the client is moving back and forth and from side to side.

The Chuncheon law office emphasized that this conduct was that of a person trying to soothe and put to sleep a child who was fussing before sleep, and not the conduct of a person abusing a child.

On the day the incident occurred, the client and an assistant teacher were together in the class.

At the time of the assault alleged by the complainant, the client and the assistant teacher were also together.

In addition, the assistant teacher occasionally looked in the client's direction.

The Chuncheon law office argued that, as a matter of common experience, it would be impossible for the client to abuse the child in front of a fellow teacher.

The Chuncheon law office also submitted as evidence a written statement from the assistant teacher attesting that there had been no act of abuse by the client on the day of the incident.