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SEOUL: Two business owners were jailed for luring two teenage girls with intellectual disabilities to an entertainment establishment they ran and forcing them into prostitution.
On Thursday (Nov 21), the Suwon District Court sentenced two defendants to five and four years in prison.
They were also ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and banned from employment at institutions dealing with children, youths and disabled people for seven years.
The two men were indicted on charges of sexually assaulting two teenagers and forcing them into prostitution at an establishment they jointly operated from April 18 to May 5.
The offenders reportedly met the victims at Yeouido Hangang Park at the time and offered to “give them a part-time job.”
The victims are said to have borderline intellectual disabilities.
The defendants denied all of the allegations, but the court said that based on the victims’ consistent and specific statements and evidence, it concluded owners had hired them at their establishment and arranged prostitution, even though they knew the victims were underage.
The one who received a five-year prison term was also ruled guilty of abusing and sexually assaulting the victims, including using physical violence against them.
The other defendant who was sentenced to four years in prison, was separately convicted of the statutory rape of a victim under the age of 16. - The Korea Herald/ANN
