Victim Representation — Subway Illegal Filming and Possession of Child Sexual Exploitation Material; 'One Year in Prison'

Case Overview

This was a serious case combining illegal filming on public transportation with digital sex crimes. The defendant secretly filmed numerous unidentified women on the subway and, separately, stored hundreds of sexually humiliating photographs on his personal computer and in cloud storage. Among them were numerous items of sexual exploitation material depicting the bodies of children and juveniles, some of which were unmistakably recognizable as children. Although the defendant's admission and remorse were given some weight, the repeated filming without the victims' consent, the massive volume of stored files, and the presence of child sexual exploitation material were the decisive grounds for the prison sentence.

Our Strategy

This was a digital sex crime in which, even without the victim's face being visible, irreparable shame and fear arose from the very moment of filming. Standing in the victim's shoes, I developed a strategy to lay bare the structure of the case so that investigators and the court would see the defendant's conduct as far more than 'just taking pictures.' In particular, through analysis of the defendant's storage media, I emphasized the presence of sexual exploitation material involving children and juveniles, and concentrated on proving 'repeated collection' and 'intent' rather than mere possession or storage. I submitted an opinion brief documenting the repeated nature of the illegal filming (officially “taking photographs or videos by using cameras”), the volume of files, and the severity of their content, which contributed to the court's decision to impose a prison sentence. I also guided the victim on pursuing civil remedies in parallel as part of her recovery, and provided careful support throughout the criminal proceedings, assisting with her statements and submitting psychological evaluations, so that her voice would not be sidelined. Digital sex crimes are devastating even when the perpetrator never approaches the victim directly. In such cases especially, responding emotionally or attempting a settlement without proper coordination often leaves the victim to bear an unfavorable outcome; losses of tens of millions of won from settlement differences alone are common. In this case, too, I achieved both pillars, severe punishment and the victim's genuine recovery, and I will continue to carry out this same strategy responsibly going forward.

Result · 1 Yr Prison

This is the result of an individual case and does not guarantee a similar outcome. Some facts have been generalized and personal information redacted to protect the client.

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Attorney in charge: Dongwoo Shin