More than 175 members of civic groups for women and children on Monday condemned a district court’s recent decision to dismiss a compensation suit filed by a minor with disability accusing six adult men of sexual assault.

The Seoul Western District Court had ruled last month that the minor -- now 15-years-old -- was not a “victim” as she voluntarily engaged in sexual activity with the adults. The court instead treated the case as illegal prostitution.

The teen, who had run away from home in 2014 two months after her 13th birthday, met the men through an online chatting application, by writing a post saying she was a runaway teen and was looking for a shelter. According to the teen’s lawyers, the first man, surnamed Yang, took her to a motel and had sex with her forcibly.

The age of consent in South Korea is 13, and the court ruled that the case cannot be defined as a statutory rape case.

“The ruling does not take into account that the teenager had intellectual disabilities, that she had the mental ability of a 7-year-old,” said Jeong Mi-rye, the director of a nongovernmental organization against sexual violence. “As both her disability and age prevented her from making sensible decisions, the court should have acknowledged this case as one of sexual violence, not an illegal sex trade case.”

The activists appealed against the court’s decision shortly after holding a press conference in front of the Seoul Western District Court building.

The court defined the incident as prostitution, as Yang treated the teen with tteokbokki, a Korean snack made of rice cakes, in exchange for sex. The teenager had similar sexual encounters with five other adult men until she was discovered by the police and returned to her home six days later.

Since returning home in 2014, the teen has been suffering from severe depression and other mental health conditions, which required her to be hospitalized at a medical institution for about four months, according to the groups and lawyers.

Among the six men, Yang was initially the only one to be indicted by the prosecutors, in 2014. He was sentenced to a fine of 4 million won ($3,394) and a mandatory 40-hour sex education program last year for engagement in the sex trade.

After Stand Up Against Sex-Trafficking of Minors, an advocacy group against sexual violence, protested the non-prosecution, four of the others were also charged and convicted -- though for sex trade offenses, rather than abuse -- with the most severe punishment being a year’s jail term, suspended for two years. Prosecutors have been unable to locate the sixth man.

SASTM in 2014 also filed separate, follow-up compensation suits against the men for medical expenses caused by the abuse. But the one filed against Yang was dismissed last month.

Bae Bok-ju, the head of an organization supporting women with disabilities, contended that the court does not seem to be aware of the existence of the Act on the Protection of Children against Sexual Abuse.

“Article 8 of the specific act says, ‘if a person aged 19 or older commits an indecent act against a disabled child, he or she shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or by a fine not exceeding 15 million won,’” she said. “The rulings make us think that the court is not aware of the nation’s own laws.”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)