A teenager who lured middle school students into routinely stealing from unmanned stores by saying, "Juveniles under the age threshold are not punished," was sentenced to prison.
According to legal sources on the 26th, Judge Lee Chang-gyeong of the Incheon District Court's Criminal Division 1 Single-Judge Panel sentenced A, an 18-year-old, to an indeterminate term of two years at maximum and one year and six months at minimum in prison for charges including joint extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes and instigating special theft.
Under the Juvenile Act, an indeterminate sentence setting maximum and minimum terms may be imposed on a minor under 19 at the time of the offense.
A was brought to trial on charges of directing three 13- to 14-year-old middle school students, some of whom were juveniles under the age threshold, to steal from unmanned stores, leading them to steal a total worth of 2,495,000 won on eight occasions at unmanned stores around Incheon in Oct.–Nov. last year.
The investigation found that A encouraged the crimes by saying, "You are juveniles, so you will not be punished. Let's split the stolen money in half," and even provided the locations of target stores and routes to get there.
After the crimes were exposed, A was found to have pointed a weapon at one of the girls among them and repeatedly forced a vehicle theft.
A also faced charges of extorting nearly 2 million won on 17 occasions by threatening, after ordering food and alcohol at a pub in Incheon with a younger schoolmate, to "report that alcohol was sold to a minor."
A was found to have previously been committed to a juvenile reformatory for a long-term disposition over theft and violence charges and had been confined for nearly a year, then, after a temporary release, committed new crimes six months later.
The court said, "The defendant instigated thefts by exploiting the fact that young middle school students were afraid of the defendant and that some were criminally underage," adding, "The defendant led young adolescents into a den of crime, and the nature of the offenses is extremely poor."
It continued, "More than 30 offenses were committed in less than a month, and the defendant repeatedly committed crimes without a sense of guilt," explaining the sentencing by saying, "Even after being detained, the defendant was punished for forcing another inmate to perform an obscene act at the detention center, making it hard to find the possibility of rehabilitation."