HIMCHAN (33 years old, Kim Himchan), former member of the group B.A.P., accused of sexual crimes, was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence by the Court of Appeal.
According to news outlet Newsis, on May 21, Criminal Branch 10 of the Seoul High Court sentenced HIMCHAN to three years in prison and five years of probation, like the lower court, for violating the Rape and Punishment Law. sexual violence (filming using cameras and obscene use of means of communication).
In addition, the court upheld the original judgment, including 40 hours of probation and sexual violence treatment courses, three years of employment restrictions in institutions related to children, adolescents and people with disabilities, and three years of notice of disclosure of information on HIMCHAN.
The court said: “Both parties appealed for an unfair conviction, but there is no reason to modify the sentence of the previous court,” adding: “We reject the appeal of the accused and the prosecutor.“
HIMCHAN was tried for three counts of sex crimes. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison in April last year for forcibly harassing a woman in her 20s who was dating him at a boarding house in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, in July 2018.
During the trial, he was also accused of touching the bodies of two women at a bar in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in April 2022. Additionally, charges were added that he threatened and raped a woman in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, in May of the same year, took photos of the victims using cameras and transmitted photos of the victims to the victims after the crime.
In February, the first trial sentenced him to three years in prison and five years of probation for committing sex crimes, during the trial.
At the time, the first trial added: “We have admitted all the crimes and agree with the victims. All videos filmed by HIMCHAN were deleted, were not released to third parties, and the degree of forced harassment was relatively minor.”
However, the prosecution appealed the case, stating: “The crime is very poor when it comes to manipulating fans’ sentiment. Please take into consideration that he committed the crime again so that he was being tried for the same type of crime.”
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Média Newsis, Starnews
