South Korean man sentenced in rape of U.S. soldier
SEOUL – A South Korean man was sentenced last week to 3 1/2 years in prison for the rape of a Camp Casey soldier in Uijeongbu last summer, according to court officials.
The man, a 25-year-old convenience store clerk identified only by his last name of Ju because of privacy concerns, met the soldier at a Uijeongbu nightclub on July 10.
He danced with her and then followed her as she walked to the restroom, according to a Uijeongbu District Court judge. He raped the woman around 3 a.m. in the building’s staircase, police and court officials said.
The chief of the Uijeongbu Police Station’s criminal department said the victim called police when she returned to her base around 8 a.m., and police arrested him later that night. Police were able to identify the man from photos taken at the nightclub by another USFK soldier.
The 18-year-old victim had arrived in South Korea only a week before the incident, according to a Uijeongbu police officer.
Judge Park In-sik said officials considered the aggressive nature of the rape and the victim’s pain in deciding the sentence.
“We also took into consideration the fact that Ju is a first-time offender, and committed his crime unintentionally after drinking and regrets his wrongdoings,” he said.
