Indecent act by force in a club

Indecent act by force

A person who commits an indecent act against another person by assault or intimidation is punished by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 15,000,000 Korean won. 'Indecent act' refers to an act that objectively causes sexual shame or disgust to a general person and violates good sexual moral standards, thereby infringing on the victim's sexual freedom.

Precedents state that whether it constitutes an 'indecent act' should be carefully determined by comprehensively considering the victim's intention, gender, age, the prior relationship between the actor and the victim, the circumstances leading to the act, the specific method of the act, the surrounding objective circumstances, and the sexual moral standards of the time.

Generally, touching a person's body against their will constitutes the crime of indecent act by force, and there are cases where even grabbing a wrist was recognized as indecent act by force.

Cases of being accused of indecent act by force due to unwanted physical contact in crowded clubs are increasing. Recently, attorney Joo Youngjae brought about a non-referral decision due to insufficient evidence in an indecent act by force case in a club. We will introduce this case.

Facts

Around June 2021, the suspect (client) met college classmates in the evening, drank a lot of alcohol, and visited a popular club in the area around 1 a.m.

After entering the club, the client enjoyed dancing and music, then went outside because the companions suggested drinking more, and re-entered the club around 3 a.m.

After being separated from the companions, the client was enjoying dancing and music alone. About an hour later, the companions sent a message saying to come out to go home. While the client was leaving the club to go home with the companions, a large man suddenly put his arm around the client's shoulder and threatened to report to the police, saying he saw the client molesting his girlfriend in the club and that he had filmed it.

The client was heavily intoxicated and, in shock from the sudden accusation of sexual harassment, could not actively refute, and to get out of the situation, said sorry to the man and asked to be let go.

Then the woman claiming to be the victim and her friends approached and recorded the client's remarks. Later, the police were called, and ultimately the client was questioned at a police substation.

Although the client denied the charge, the police pressed the charge based on the victim's statement and the recording file. Ultimately, the client requested help from attorney Joo Youngjae to clear the charge.

Attorney Joo Youngjae's response

Since the client did not remember the incident exactly due to intoxication, and the statement apologizing to the victim was recorded, presenting an unfavorable situation, attorney Joo Youngjae focused on impeaching the credibility of the victim's statement and collecting evidence favorable to the client.

Attorney Joo Youngjae, knowing that the client's companions (college classmates) were present at the scene where the client and the victim's group were talking, submitted a written statement from the college classmate to the police. He also argued that the victim's group, being from another area, had come to a place with no connections and reported a sexual assault; the victim had previously mentioned having sued a sexual assault perpetrator; the victim's boyfriend, while conversing with the club MD, said, 'This time, I didn't hit him, I just talked to him'; and although they claimed to have filmed the sexual assault, they did not submit the relevant video, so the victim's group had falsely accused the heavily intoxicated client.

Police's decision

After questioning the victim, the police called the client twice for questioning. Accepting the arguments of attorney Joo Youngjae, the police determined that the victim's statement lacked credibility and ultimately issued a non-referral decision for the client due to insufficient evidence.