It was found that the act of sex offenders repeatedly issuing statements of remorse or making donations for the purpose of reducing their sentences was not recognized as "serious remorse" in a formal trial.
Today (14th), the Supreme Prosecutor's Office said that after analyzing 6 major sexual crime verdicts reported to the Supreme Prosecutor between June last year and February this year, none of them recognized the submission of donated materials or repeated reflections as "serious reflection."
Among the verdicts analyzed by the prosecutor's office, 2 cases were based on "defendant's remorse" as a reason for reducing sentences, such as cases in which the victim agreed to the crime after confessing to the crime, efforts to recover damages such as collusion, and cases in which the person was a first-time offender.
Recently, law firms that have launched a "sex crime reduction package" have flourished, and a service that ghostwrites reflections for sex offenders has appeared, but it has not led to a reduction in sentences at trial.
On the other hand, out of 91 sexual crime judgments, 27 were ruled by investigating agencies or courts that "remorse cannot be admitted" based on the defendant's excuses or the attitude of attributing responsibility to the victim.
There were 91 cases in which the word "remorse" was omitted because the word "remorse" was omitted because it was only a confession but did not reach an agreement or recovery from the damages, and many cases imposed severe sentences on the grounds that "the defendant's remorse cannot be recognized" based on the defendant's excuse or attitude toward the victim.
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This has been seen in several rulings.
In November last year, the Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Court sentenced defendant A, who was accused of sexually assaulting children and adolescents at an academy he runs, to 11 years in prison, saying, "I question whether he is seriously reflecting on the case, such as claiming to have a consensual relationship with the victims."
In August of the same year, the Nonsan District Office of the Daejeon District Court sentenced defendant B, who was accused of committing adultery with his 20-year-old granddaughter several times, to 8 years in prison, saying that he was "remorseful for the pain he caused on the surface, but he was not truly reflecting because he was in a hurry to reduce his guilt, such as claiming that the victim was lying."
The prosecutor explained, "In terms of sentencing standards, 'serious remorse' means when the defendant is recognized to be sincerely remorseful for the crime after investigating and judging the specific circumstances under which the crime was admitted and whether efforts were made to recover the damage or prevent its recurrence."
He emphasized, "It is difficult to be accepted by simply submitting donation materials, educational certificates, or repeated reflections."
The prosecutor's office said, "We will continue to investigate more closely the authenticity and circumstances of the sentencing materials submitted during the investigation trial, so that unfair sentencing materials will not be taken into account as reasons for reducing the sentence."
(Photo = Yonhap News)