Granny-raping GI gets 4 years in the pen

The 2ID solider convicted of raping a 66-year old grandmother [Marmot's Hole post] in Mapo-gu in January has been sentenced to four years in prison [Yonhap News, Korean]. If you ask me, he got off light, but the GI’s lawyer said he would appeal anyway.

This entry was written by Robert Koehler, posted on March 9, 2007 at 11:53 am, filed under Asides, ROK-US Issues, Stupid Foreigner Tricks. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Warren

Posted March 9, 2007 at 12:11 pm | Permalink

If this soldier is indeed guilty then four years is too light a sentence. He claimed earlier that he was too drunk to remember what he did. Just so young and foolish - just senseless.
Mark

Posted March 10, 2007 at 9:19 am | Permalink

Being drunk gets you off light in Corean court.
globalvillageidiot

Posted March 10, 2007 at 9:24 am | Permalink

Be it this 4-year sentence or the one the taxi driver eventually got for raping the GI, rape sentences here seem pretty light. As the Camp Jackson example suggests, a guilty verdict in the Hongdae case would have resulted in a far harsher sentence in a military court. (I also recall not being all that impressed at the Korean court’s sentence for the GI who strangled the woman at the Tiger Tavern a few years back.)

At the other extreme, there have been statutory rape cases in the US - high school couples, etc. - and outdated sodomy laws in some states that have produced - and continue to produce - some extremely severe sentences, disproportionate to the crimes involved. I’m not talking Iran/Saudi Arabia-type severity, but still pretty out there.

Finally - and I noticed this lately with a few guys in the news here being accused of groping women in bars or on the street - being hammered is no longer quite as valid an excuse for committing crimes as it used to be. A long way left to go, but I think things are slowly moving in the right direction on that front.

By USFK Soldier Convicted and Sentenced in Grandma Rape Case at ROK Drop on March 9, 2007 at 6:48 pm

[...] The Marmot is reporting that the soldier involved in the despicable grandma rape case has been sentenced to 4 years in prison. The Marmot thinks that the soldier got off light. In a US court system and especially a military court it appears he did get off easy. Take the 2003 Camp Jackson sexual assault case for example, the NCO involved in the rape of a KATUSA soldier was sentenced to 30 years in prison. [...]

The Marmot’s Hole