A 40-year-old volunteer who was sentenced to prison in the first trial on charges of abusing an infant while volunteering at 'Baby Box' has been commuted on appeal.
Today (4th), the 5th criminal division of the Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Shim Byung-jik) overturned the original sentence of 2 years in prison for A, who was charged with violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse), and sentenced him to 2 years in prison and 3 years of probation. He ordered 120 hours of community service, 40 hours of child abuse prevention lectures, and 5 years of employment restrictions for child-related periods.
Mr. A was charged with abusing a newborn baby in the baby box nursery in the middle of the night on February 17 last year.
Baby Box is a private facility operated by a religious organization that takes care of children who cannot be raised by their parents.
Person A, who was volunteering here, was accused of abusing a newborn baby seven times, including holding the ankle of an 8-day-old newborn baby upside down and hitting the child's head against the edge of the sofa in the baby box nursery room around 2 a.m. on the same day. I receive.
He is also accused of shoving the head of a one-month-old baby in the cradle at around 5 a.m. on the same day with the back of his hand.
This fact was revealed the next day, February 18, last year, when an employee of a religious organization operating a baby box found a bruise on the child's face and reported suspected abuse to the police.
After receiving the report, the police investigated the abuse through CCTV analysis and found that Mr. A was abusing children.
It is known that Mr. A has been working as a night care volunteer at the baby box since October 2020.
The first instance court sentenced A, who stood in court, to two years in prison, saying, "The victims did not have any resistance and had to endure the pain as they were exposed defenselessly to the abuse of the accused." It is a serious crime that inflicts physical and mental pain on these feeble children that is difficult to heal for the rest of their lives.”
However, the Court of Appeals decided otherwise.
The appeals court overturned the original trial and sentenced A to 2 years in prison and 3 years of probation, saying, "At the appeals court, A reached an agreement with the victim's parents and is reflecting on the crime, and that there are no aftereffects left for the victims. We considered the visible points," he explained, explaining the reason for the sentencing.
This is a 'news pick'.