Cold Case Sexual Assault Solved After 17 Years Thanks to DNA Evidence

A man who broke into a shop in the middle of the night to sexually assault the female owner and commit robbery has been punished 17 years after the crime.

According to legal circles, the Gwangju District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 11 (Presiding Judge Kim Song-hyun) sentenced a 51-year-old man surnamed Jeong, who was indicted on charges including special robbery and rape, to 7 years and 6 months in prison.

Jeong was brought to trial on charges of breaking into a store in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, around 3 a.m. on April 21, 2009, sexually assaulting the female owner, and stealing 300,000 won in cash.

At the time, Jeong carefully evaded the police investigation. He was later caught for repeated theft crimes and received a suspended sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison with 3 years of probation in March 2016.

The investigative authorities later identified Jeong while cross-referencing the DNA of the suspect from the 2009 case—which had remained a long-term cold case—with the database of newly registered violent criminals.

The prosecution, which had placed Jeong on a wanted list, located and arrested him this past March.

During the trial, Jeong admitted to all the charges.

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