Parents Ordered to Pay 18 Million Won in Damages for Middle Schooler's Months of Sexual Harassment at School

A court has ruled that the parents of a middle school student who forcibly groped and sexually harassed a female classmate in the classroom and other areas for months must pay approximately 18 million won in damages to the victim.

Judge Lee Joo-hyun of Civil Settlement Division 6 at the Cheongju District Court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a 35 million won damage suit filed by the victim against the parents of the perpetrator, identified as student A, ordering the defendants to pay about 18 million won to the plaintiff.

Between March and May of last year, middle school student A sent sexual messages to his classmate, student B, via social networking services (SNS), saying things such as "I want to touch your body" and "Be my sex slave."

During this period, he also forcibly touched student B's body multiple times in the classroom and hallways.

Due to these incidents, student B was diagnosed with depression and received psychiatric treatment.

Judge Lee stated, "The defendants had a duty of protection and supervision to continuously provide routine guidance and advice, including proper sex education for student A, but they neglected this duty." The judge added, "Since this negligence contributed to the illicit act, the defendants are responsible as tortfeasors to compensate for the damages suffered by the plaintiff."

The court further ruled, "Considering various circumstances including the background and details leading up to this case, the nature of the sexual messages, and the manner in which the forcible groping was carried out, setting the solatium at 12 million won is appropriate." The court ordered, "The defendants must also compensate for approximately 6.7 million won in psychiatric treatment expenses incurred by student B."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.