Dancer accused of sexual assault for giving 15-year-old ”sleeping pill ice cream” - South Korea

A dancer in his 40s who gave a teenage female student ice cream laced with sleeping pills and then sexually assaulted her had his sentence reduced on appeal.
On the 27th, the 2nd Criminal Division of the Daegu High Court (Chief Judge Jeong Seung-gyu)
A dancer, Mr. A (48), who was indicted on charges of sexual assault (violating the Child and Adolescent Sexual Protection Law, including incest and injury) after giving a female student sleeping pills and then committing lewd acts, was given a verdict in the appeal court.
The court overturned the conviction and sentenced him to three years and six months in prison, five years of work restriction, three years of probation, and a fine of 50 million won (approximately 5.37 million yen).
Prior to this, Mr. A was sentenced to five years in prison, 10 years of work restriction, and five years of probation in the first trial.
Mr. A is accused of sexually abusing a student, Ms. B (15), at a dance school in North Gyeongsang Province, by feeding her ice cream containing half a sleeping pill in February last year.
When B fell asleep, A took B to his house and committed indecent acts on him, including putting his face close to B's cheek and hugging him.
Mr. A said, "I gave the victim ice cream with sleeping pills in it out of curiosity.
"It was not planned," he said. He also said, "I have suffered from panic attacks for the past five years," and continued to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.
Mr. A has a social background as a university dance instructor, a choreographer for a municipal dance company, and the head of the Korean Dance Association's European and American branches. He is running for city council in the local elections.
The first trial court previously ruled that "the defendant committed indecent assault on the victim who was unable to resist," and that "in order to cover up his crime, he forced the victim to make a false statement, and the victim was made to accept the defendant's crime as a false statement."
"She has suffered a tremendous psychological shock and feels great despair and frustration at the thought of quitting dancing," he said in explaining the sentence.
However, both Mr. A and the prosecution filed an appeal with the court, arguing that the sentence was unjust.
The appeals court explained its reasons for the sentence by stating, "We took into consideration the points agreed upon with the victim."