▲ Suspects in the attempted kidnapping of an elementary school student in Seodaemun
Two men accused of attempting to kidnap elementary school students near a school in Seodaemun-gu by approaching them and offering rides home denied the charges during their first trial.
Judge Kim Min-jung of Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Western District Court held the first hearing today (October 16) for two men in their 20s, identified as A and B, who were indicted on charges of attempted enticement of minors and child abuse under the Child Welfare Act.
Both A and B stated today that they deny all charges.
After the trial, their defense counsel explained, "While we acknowledge the facts such as approaching the children and speaking to them, there was entirely no intention to entice them into a car, take control of them, or commit a kidnapping; it was simply a prank."
The defendants are accused of driving around near an elementary school in Hong-eun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, on August 28 of last year, approaching students leaving school, and attempting to lure them three times by saying, "You're cute, I'll take you home."
The crime ended in an attempt after the students fled.
At the time, the Seodaemun Police Station initially dismissed the first report as a "misunderstanding" after reviewing only a portion of nearby closed-circuit (CCTV) footage.
However, as additional reports followed after the neighboring elementary school distributed a notice warning parents to be cautious of kidnappings, the police re-examined the CCTV footage and launched a reinvestigation, urgently arresting three individuals, including A.
Seven months after the incident, in March of last year, police sent A and B to prosecutors without detention on charges of attempted enticement of minors, while deciding not to forward the remaining suspect on the grounds that their degree of involvement was minimal.
During the investigation, police applied for arrest warrants for A and B, but the court dismissed them, stating that there was room for dispute regarding the facts of the charges and the presence of intent.
The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, which took over the case, indicted the suspects after conducting supplementary investigations, including additional questioning of the suspects and a review of CCTV records, and applied additional child abuse charges.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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