HIMCHAN
The appeal trial of HIMCHAN, a former member of the group B.A.P, who was caught committing sex crimes three times, including committing sex crimes again while on trial after being accused of sex crimes , will end at the end of May.
On February 8, HIMCHAN filed an appeal through his legal representative to oppose the conviction handed down during the first trial for violation of the law on sanctions against rape and sexual violence (filming using cameras, obscene acts using communication media). The trial will be subject to a two-way appeal since HIMCHAN appealed after the prosecution had already filed an appeal on the 7th, claiming the decision was unfair.
The 10th Criminal Department of the Seoul High Court, which has since taken over the case, will hold its first appeal trial soon and will immediately conclude its oral arguments and announce the decision on May 21.
Previously, the Criminal Agreement Department 12 of the Seoul West District Court sentenced HIMCHAN to three years in prison and five years of probation, ordered him to complete a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program and restricted his employment in institutions related to children and adolescents and the disabled for three years.
“The accused is an idol, so the impact of the crime is not negligible“,
the court said. “We are referring to the fact that the victims no longer want to punish the victim. We are referring to the fact that all illegal filming videos are deleted and not distributed to third parties, and that the intensity of the forced harassment of the accused is relatively weak The accused demonstrates a specific attitude of reflection and the sentence is decided taking into account his age, profession, state of health and family relationships.”
HIMCHAN faces three sex crime charges for committing them while on trial for forcible harassment. HIMCHAN was sentenced to 10 months in prison during the first trial in February 2021 for forcibly harassing a woman in her 20s he dated at a boarding house in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province on July 24 2018. In the second trial on the forcible harassment charges, the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office indicted HIMCHAN with additional charges such as rape, illegal filming, and forcible harassment.
HIMCHAN was accused of threatening and sexually assaulting a woman in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul in May 2022, using a camera, and transmitting photos taken with a camera to the victim in June 2022, one month after the crime, then touching the bodies of two women in a bar in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on April 17, 2023.
The prosecution said: “This is to seek a harsher sentence for KIM HIMCHAN, who raped and illegally filmed a fan victim,” adding: “We considered the crime to be very serious, such as threatening and assaulting the victim using his fan feelings and committing illegal filming, and that he committed the crime again while he was on trial for the same crime.”
Additionally, HIMCHAN’s appeal will likely raise eyebrows among the audience. During the trial, HIMCHAN submitted a total of 20 letters of apology, calling for leniency.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS HIMCHAN
