A YouTuber known as 'Battle Rabbit' has been sentenced to prison for illegally disclosing the identities of the perpetrators involved in a sexual assault case that occurred in Milyang City, Gyeongsangnam-do, in 2004.
Judge Kim Song of the Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 4 sentenced a man in his 30s, referred to as A, who managed the YouTube channel 'Battle Rabbit' on the 23rd, to 2 years and 6 months in prison for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) among other charges. Additionally, he was ordered to forfeit 7,823,256 won.
The court also sentenced A's wife, referred to as B, a public servant in her 30s from a local government in North Chungcheong Province who was indicted on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act, to 2 years in prison with a 3-year probation.
A was indicted for illegally disclosing the identities of the perpetrators in the Milyang sexual assault case, which he obtained from his wife between June and July of last year on his YouTube channel 'Battle Rabbit,' and for threatening and coercing some victims by stating he would disclose their families' identities if they did not send him apology videos.
B was indicted for illegally accessing the personal information, including the resident registration numbers and addresses, of dozens of residents, including the perpetrators of the sexual assault case, while working as a public servant during the same period, and providing this information to her husband A.
Judge Kim stated, "Identifying perpetrators and imposing private sanctions based on information circulating online without going through an objective and fair legal process is an act that threatens the foundation of our rule of law and cannot be tolerated."
He further explained, "Many of the victims in this case have been socially and economically stigmatized despite being unrelated to the Milyang sexual assault case, due to their identities being disclosed, and a firm and severe punishment is inevitable to establish clear standards and perspectives in similar cases in the future."
He added, "While their crimes cannot be justified, it should be considered that the insufficient identification of the facts and accountability regarding the 2004 Milyang sexual assault case triggered these actions, and that they have no prior criminal record."
Previously, the prosecution sought a 5-year prison sentence for A and a 3-year prison sentence for B.