A court has ruled that a man in his 30s, whose conviction has been finalized for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor he met through social media, must pay 13 million won in damages to the victim and her mother.

According to the legal community on October 8, Judge Shin Seung-ah of the Busan District Court Eastern Branch ruled in a damage suit filed by the victim, A, and her mother, B, against C, a man in his 30s, ordering that "C shall pay 10 million won to A and 3 million won to B."

According to the ruling, C saw a post uploaded by A on social media in mid-November of last year, contacted her via messenger, and exchanged messages.

At around 2:10 a.m. on November 19 of the same year, C parked his car in front of the main gate of an apartment complex in Busan and sexually assaulted A, who was 14 years old at the time, in the back seat of the vehicle.

C was indicted on charges of statutory rape of a minor and was sentenced in April to two years and six months in prison suspended for four years.

C appealed, but the appeal was dismissed, finalizing the sentence.

Statutory rape of a minor is a crime that punishes individuals who have sexual intercourse with children or adolescents, regardless of whether the child consented, under laws equivalent to rape in order to protect children and adolescents.

Judge Shin stated, "This is expected to have a considerable negative impact on A's future emotional development and the formation of healthy sexual values," adding, "A's mother is also believed to have suffered significant mental distress due to the crime committed against her young child."

However, the judge added that taking into account the fact that C paid 7 million won during the first trial of the criminal case as a partial payment for mental damages, the additional compensation was set at 10 million won for A and 3 million won for B.
(Photo: Yonhap News)