(Herald DB)
(Herald DB)

A child rapist sentenced originally to six years in prison for sexual assault on two girls had his sentenced halved by the appellate court, as the court said the defendant cannot definitively be assumed to be a habitual offender.

Seoul High Court recently overturned the lower court ruling that sentenced the defendant surnamed Oh to six years in prison for his 2006 attack against young girls, instead handing him three years in prison. It also overturned the earlier court decision to have the defendant wear an electronic tracking device for 20 years after his release.

The grounds for the lenient punishment was that Oh does not appear to be a habitual offender, despite the lower court saying that he presents a great risk of committing similar sex crimes against minors in the future.

Oh in May last year was given a prison term for his 2006 attack against the victims, then aged 11 and 9. Oh followed the two girls into their home and molested them while filming them with his phone.

He evaded justice for well over a decade as the investigators were unable to find who was responsible for the heinous attack.

In 2023, while Oh was serving prison term for another sex attack against an adult he committed in 2022, the prosecution found that his DNA samples matched the samples found in the 2006 crime scene -- allowing them to pinpoint him as the attacker. Oh was about to finish his term for the 2022 crime, but he was placed on trial while under physical detention.

Oh had been punished for attempted rape against minors in two other occasions, one in 2001 and the other in 2007.

An earlier court ruling last year handed a six-year term, saying that he presents a grave threat to commit similar crimes in the future. It pointed out that he appears to be a habitual sexual offender, saying the three sex crimes against the minors are similar in type of victims and crime method.

But the appellate court said the victims of each crime differ in age, and the method of crime is different. It said that the later crimes do not appear to be result of Oh's tendency to habitually commit sex attacks, and that the attacks are years apart.

The court pointed out that the 2022 attack was against an adult and the other crimes were against children. It added that Oh has also financially compensated each of his victims.

Oh's lawyer initially appealed the ruling, but dropped the appeal two days afterwards for unrevealed reasons. The prosecution also decided to not to appeal the case, confirming the ruling.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com