A grandfather in his 70s who raped his 10-year-old granddaughter several times over five years and filmed the process was sentenced to 17 years in prison in the first trial.
The 29th Criminal Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Kim Chang-hyeong) made this decision today (8th) against a 74-year-old man who was charged with violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
A five-year employment restriction order and a two-year probation order were also issued.
A was handed over to trial on charges of sexually assaulting her 10-year-old granddaughter for the first time in 2013, then sexually assaulting her six times over the next five years, and filming the process 46 times with a cell phone camera.
The granddaughter was entrusted to a child protection facility, and it was investigated that Mr. A took the granddaughter out of the facility for a while to commit a crime.
The prosecution requested the court to sentence the judge to 20 years in prison, saying, "It is extremely inhumane and the quality of the crime is very poor."
The court acknowledged Mr. A's guilt and pointed out, "The accused used the situation where the victim abandoned by his parents could not easily resist and used it as a tool to continuously satisfy his sexual desires."
“The victim, who was abandoned at a young age, suffered sexual assault from the age of 10, starting with her grandfather, the only family member she could contact, and endured it because she thought it would not be a problem if she endured it.”
He added, "In this case, as the victim grew old and left the shelter, he was afraid that the accused would come to him, so he reported it."
However, the court added, "We took into account the fact that the defendant acknowledged and reflected on all the crimes, that he had no history of sexual offenses, and that he asked for forgiveness by saying that he would not see the victim again."