Footage of one attack was captured in the reflection from a washing machine door
Representative
Representative (AFP via Getty)
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A 24-year-old South Korean man denied any wrongdoing after being accused of rape and unlawful confinement by his former girlfriend, but a piece of unusual evidence admitted at the last minute left him with no choice to confess.
The evidence: footage of one of his attacks, captured by a security camera via the reflection in a washing machine door.
The man has now been sentenced to seven years in prison for multiple sex crimes, including rape, unlawful confinement and sexual assault. He was also convicted of statutory rape involving a minor.
He had initially denied the charges, local media reported, but forensic analysis of the 39-minute security camera footage revealed his actions in the reflection, leading to his confession.
His ex-girlfriend, whose name and age were not made public, said he raped her six times between March and April last year. The assaults reportedly began after she tried to end their relationship upon discovering sexually explicit photos and videos of other women on his phone.
At that time, The Korea Times reported, he was already on trial for raping another former partner in 2022 and threatening to release a sex video.
At first, the CCTV footage submitted by the victim appeared to miss the crimes but then investigators noticed an assault reflected in the washing machine door.
South Korean media reported that only two minutes of the footage clearly showed the man and his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t show the assault itself, but investigators found the attack was visible in the reflection of the washing machine’s plastic lid during the remaining 37 minutes.
They sent this portion of the footage to the forensic science department for video and audio enhancement and the result confirmed their suspicion.
After seeing the enhanced security video, the man confessed to the assault.
In spite of his partial denial of the charges, he was found guilty on all counts.
In addition to the jail term, the court imposed a seven-year employment ban on the man at institutions involving minors and people with disabilities. It also directed him to wear an electronic anklet for the same period after his release.
“The defendant’s crimes are dreadful and he consistently tried to excuse his actions to the investigators while pursuing legal actions against the victim to pressure her. A heavy punishment is necessary,” judge Lee Eun Hye said in her verdict delivered last November.
The Korea Herald reported that the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office commended the investigators for their outstanding use of forensics to land the confession.
The Yeongwol branch of the Chuncheon district court, which conducted the first trial, had sentenced the man to eight years in prison.
But an appellate court found the sentence was “unjust” and reduced it slightly considering the settlement the man had reached with one of the victims.
According to YTN Digital, the court pointed out that “the defendant showed remorse by confessing to each crime at the trial”, and that “he reached an additional agreement with one of the victims at the trial, so the sentence was determined taking into account these factors”.