Article: Video: Woman narrowly escape an attempted r*pe in Shillim-dong, Seoul
Source: Joongang Ilbo
A 30yr old man who followed a woman home and almost entered her apartment is being accused of trespassing and not attempted r*pe.
Police made the decision for a trespassing charge citing the principle of presumption of innocence. But the controversy has intensified as additional CCTV footage of the man following her home through the alley has been released.
Netizens are voicing their concerns about the decision saying, "It's clear that it's sexual assault because you can see the intent behind following her home. Are you only calling it trespassing because the charge has a weaker sentence??"
Kim Kwang-sam, a legal expert weighed in on the issue and said, "It is difficult to charge the man with attempted r*pe because then if we do, we're assuming that men who follow women home will commit sex crimes. Also, from the CCTV footage released, we can't prove that he intended to sexually assault her. A trespassing argument can be made because he followed her home and entered through the stairs and hallway to her apartment."
He continued, "If convicted of trespassing, he will be facing at least 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won. On the other hand, sexual assault crimes are subject to heavier punishment and if proven, he would be facing a minimum of 5 years in prison to life imprisonment."
With concerns of a "weaker punishment" more likely for 'A', more and more people agreed for a petition to be written and on the same day, a petition titled "Strongly punish the attempted Shillim-dong r*pist " was posted on the Blue House website. As of 3:20 AM KST on the 1st, the petition has garnered 81,295 signatures.
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| Shillim-dong petition posted on Blue House website with signatures as of 3:20AM KST on June 01, 2019 |
The petition reads:
"I want you to punish a man who tried to intrude into a woman’s house in Shillim-dong.
As you can see from the video, it’s a pressing situation that you just don’t know what could've happened if she had closed the door a second later. You can see the man wandering in front of the woman's door for several minutes after the door closed, waiting for her to open it again. As parent who lives alone with a daughter, I was really shocked to see the video. In a time when gender equality is considered a virtue, women cannot return home comfortably for a single day and are exposed to constant threats of sexual violence. Please find the criminals quickly and punish them strongly.
In addition, please strengthen the penalty for the man who attacked the woman living alone. In addition to unauthorized intrusion, the police officers should strongly condemn and punish males who are not keeping to their own residence but are instead wandering outside a woman's home. If nothing else, it's something that could happen to your daughter, sister, girl friend or someone at your job. Please join us. I hope that Korea can become a country where women can live with a peace of mind.
As the incident became public, the CCTV video titled "Shillim-dong r*pist video" was uploaded on social media. The Gwanak Police Station confirmed the man's movements on the footage and started an investigation into the case. The man, 'A' aware that the police were investigating expressed his intention to turn himself in through a 112 call to police and was later arrested at 7:15am.
As the incident became public, the CCTV video titled "Shillim-dong r*pist video" was uploaded on social media. The Gwanak Police Station confirmed the man's movements on the footage and started an investigation into the case. The man, 'A' aware that the police were investigating expressed his intention to turn himself in through a 112 call to police and was later arrested at 7:15am.
Later that day, Channel 'A' released additional CCTV footage that shows the man chasing the woman home through the alley. During the first round of police questioning that ended around 5pm, the man, 'A', said he drank until dawn and does not remember his movements. Police believe the suspect happened to see the victim that day and just followed her. He didn't specifically target her or wait for her.
Police said, "since the motive of the crime hasn't been clearly confirmed, we will conduct a reinforced investigation into the CCTV footage as well as the victim's statements. We will decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant for the suspect after investigating whether his actions in front of the victim's door can be evaluated as "intimidation and assault""
The Blue House petition that was published on May 29th is set to expire on June 28, 2019.
For those that want to sign it, the petition is available here.
