▲ Hand holding a smartphone (File Photo)
A victimized teacher has won a partial victory in a civil lawsuit filed in connection with a case where a high school student created and distributed sexually exploitative deepfake materials targeting female teachers.
According to the Incheon Teachers Union, Judge Lee Sang-eon of Civil Division 13 at the Incheon District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in part today (October 21) in a damages lawsuit filed by teacher A against B, seeking approximately 72 million won.
Judge Lee ordered B to pay 17.7 million won to teacher A.
Regarding the ruling, the Incheon Teachers Union stated, "While the amount of 17.7 million won is regrettable, this ruling sounds a social alarm by holding perpetrators civilly liable for illicit filming and deepfake crimes targeting teachers."
B was indicted on charges of using deepfake technology in July 2024, while he was still a high school student, to composite the faces of two female teachers at his school, as well as a senior and an instructor from a private academy, onto nude photos and distributing them on social media. His 3-year prison sentence was finalized during an appeal trial in December of last year.
B was also accused of using his smartphone at school to take close-up photos of specific body parts of the victimized teacher.
Having turned 19—the age threshold for the application of the Juvenile Act—after the first trial, B was sentenced to a fixed-term prison sentence rather than an indeterminate sentence in the second trial.
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