A technical college professor has been sentenced to eight months behind bars for sexually harassing a female student in class, a Seoul district court said Wednesday.
The Seoul Western District Court said the defendant, identified only by his surname Lee, was also ordered to receive 40 hours of antisexual assault education after being found guilty of molesting the student, whose identity was withheld, two years ago.
The 52-year-old tried to rub his cheek against the student’s while holding her shoulder during an industrial design class in October 2012, court documents showed. He went on to touch her breasts when the student resisted.
An independent probe by the school later found that the professor had groped other students during class on a regular basis. Lee was subsequently fired in April 2013.
The court said Lee sued the school and a teachers’ commission to reverse his termination, albeit to no avail, and tried to have other students vouch for his innocence during the trial.
“Lee’s ethical lapses undermined the public trust in the school and professors, and it appears that he’s repeatedly harassed students,” said Judge Lee Gwang-woo in his verdict.
“To this day, the defendant has failed to sincerely apologize for his acts and caused even more damage by distorting the facts in his testimony.” (Yonhap)
