A 30-year-old man who illegally filmed more than 100 guests by installing cameras disguised as internet routers in motel rooms across the country has been sentenced to prison.
Today (April 24), Incheon District Court Criminal Division 18 Sole 안전놀이터(Judge Kim Dong-hee) sentenced A, 30, who was charged with using cameras and other devices to film under the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Offenses, to eight years in prison and ordered him to be restricted from working in organizations for children, youth, or the disabled for seven years.
Mr. A was charged with illegally filming the bodies of more than 100 guests 69 times in January and February by installing 14 cameras in the rooms of 10 motels in Seoul, Incheon and Busan, and illegally filming himself having sex with a prostitute and then keeping the footage.
He placed the cameras, disguised as internet routers, on TV shelves and other places in the motel and hotel rooms to illegally film the beds, but he was caught when an employee who discovered the cameras while cleaning the rooms reported the installation.
The police, who responded to the report, removed all the cameras and found that the illegal footage was not distributed.
During the police investigation, Mr. A reportedly claimed that he was “planning to go back to the room later this month to retrieve the camera” and that he had “no intention of distributing it”.
When Mr. A was finally brought to court, the prosecutor said, “The defendant’s offense is serious and his character is poor,” and asked for 10 years in prison.
The court found that “the defendant’s criminal behavior is poor, as he filmed sex scenes with cameras disguised as internet routers at various lodging establishments,” and that “he has been punished several times for the same crime, and it is necessary for him to be isolated from society for a certain period of time.”
However, “the defendant was remorseful for the crime and the video was not distributed,” the court said.