(LEAD) Gov't to toughen punishment for sexual crimes on disabled

(ATTN: UPDATES with police measures in last three paras)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- Teachers and aspiring teachers will be permanently barred from working at schools if they have been convicted or fined for sex crimes, the government said Friday, announcing new measures to crack down on the sexual abuse of young students, especially disabled teens.
The measures call for raising the maximum jail term for rapists of the disabled from the current three years to five years, and forcing all convicted of sexual attacks on the disabled to wear electronic anklets.
In addition, those suspected of sexually abusing the disabled can be indicted even without a complaint from the victim, under a government bid to eliminate possible loopholes in the current law.
The measures to toughen punishment for sex crimes on the disabled come alongside the popularity of a Korean film based on the real-life story of teachers sexually abusing their disabled students.



The film "Dogani," whose English title is "The Crucible," prompted public outcry not only because the crime happened at a Gwangju school for the disabled for years from 2000 but also because the convicted teachers only received light punishments.
Of the six teachers charged, only two received jail terms, both for less than a year, with the others sentenced to suspended terms or acquitted of the charges. This was mainly because the victims' parents agreed to drop their accusations in return for compensation.
"The government will respond sternly to any sexual assault on the socially weak so the crime can be eradicated eventually," Yim Jong-yong, minister of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said in a press briefing.
According to the measures jointly set up by six relevant government offices, including the Prime Minister's Office, and the education, justice and welfare ministries, anyone who sexually assaults a disabled person will face up to five years of imprisonment.
Teachers who are fined 1 million won (US$840) or more for a sexual assault will be fired and barred from teaching again. Under the present system, a jail term or heavier punishment can be a reason for denying employment of a person as a teacher or removing a teacher from the job.
Students will also be disciplined more strictly when they sexually assault their disabled peers than when they do the same to normal students, the government said, adding that it will be recommended to schools that they alter their rules accordingly.
The government said it will take quick steps to shut down the Gwangju school where the abuse detailed in the movie occurred, while taking measures to protect the school's students.
Teachers involved in the incident will be removed from their jobs and the authorities will conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether there were any additional sexual assaults on students or any corruption involving the school foundation, the government added.
In a related move, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Friday it will establish all-female teams of special investigators to investigate suspected sex crimes at disabled shelters across the nation.
The women investigators will be exclusively tasked with questioning female sex crime victims as part of a police bid to better protect them, the NPA said.
The agency's instant rescue service, now restricted to elementary students, will also be expanded to disabled people under the age of 19, it noted.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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