Court: “High Risk of Reoffending” A man in his 20s, who raped his intellectually disabled younger sister immediately after being released from prison for sexual offenses, received a higher sentence on appeal.
On the 17th, the Busan High Court’s Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Lee Jae-wook) sentenced Mr. A to 12 years in prison for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (rape of a relative and rape of a disabled person). The first trial court had sentenced Mr. A to 9 years, but the appeals court overturned this decision and imposed a harsher sentence.
Additionally, the court maintained the original order for Mr. A to wear a location-tracking electronic device for 10 years and restricted him from employment in child, youth, and disability-related organizations for the same period.
Mr. A was accused of bringing his severely intellectually disabled younger sister, Ms. B (in her 20s), to a motel room and raping her on February 13th in Yeonje-gu, Busan. At that time, Mr. A had been out of prison for just 11 days after serving a 6-year sentence for rape and attempted rape.
It was reported that Mr. A scored 22 on the Korean Sexual Offender Risk Assessment Scale (KSORAS), indicating a ‘high’ risk of reoffending. On the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), he scored 21, indicating ‘intermediate’ levels of psychopathic traits.
The court stated, “As the victim’s brother, Mr. A should have protected the intellectually disabled victim, but instead, he used her to satisfy his sexual desires and even threatened or coaxed her to hide his crime.” They also criticized him for blaming alcohol during the investigation to evade responsibility.
The court explained their sentencing decision by noting, “Mr. A committed the crime just after serving a sentence for similar offenses, showing difficulty in eliminating his distorted sexual desires. Thus, the risk of reoffending is deemed significantly high, making the original sentence unjustifiably lenient.”