Category: crime & punishment

US Sailor Accused of Raping Okinawa Woman

| March 16, 2016

Here we go again, hopefully the hotel has security cameras that caught exactly what happened in the hotel lobby:

(CNN)A U.S. serviceman has been arrested in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa on suspicion of raping a Japanese tourist, local police have confirmed to CNN. The alleged attack took place in the serviceman’s hotel room in Naha, the prefectural capital.

The man, identified by Okinawan police as 24-year old Navy sailor Justin Castellanos, stationed at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, allegedly took the victim, a 40-year-old woman from the Japanese prefecture of Kyushu, to his room after finding her asleep, drunk, in the hotel’s lobby before raping her. [CNN]

You can read the rest at the link but it does bother me how the media names the accused sailor in the article before he even goes to trial. 

USFK Court Martial Results for January 2016

| March 4, 2016

Below are the January 2016 USFK Court Martial and ROK criminal prosecution results results from the USFK website.  Really nothing of interest this month other than a Lieutenant Colonel being convicted of larceny and fined $20,000.  The results did not specify what he did, but I would not be surprised if it was BAH fraud.  You can read the rest below:

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Results of US Court-Martials for January 2016

On 5 January 2016, at a Summary Court-Martial, Private (E-2) Emanuel C. Morrison, 94th Military Battalion, Material Support Center-Korea, was found guilty of one specification of committing abusive sexual contact (Article 120, UCMJ). His adjudged sentence was to be reduced to the grade of E-1; to forfeit $1,049.00 pay for one month; and to be confined for 30 days.

On 12 January 2016, at a Special Court-Martial, Staff Sergeant Kenneth S. Clark, 121 Combat Support Hospital, 65th Medical Brigade, was found guilty of one specification of larceny (Article 121, UCMJ). He was sentenced to be reduced to the grade of E-4, to forfeit $1,200 per month for three months, and to be confined for 90 days.

On 14 January 2016, at a General Court-Martial, Lieutenant Colonel Halbert Brown, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, Eighth Army, was found guilty of two specifications of larceny (Article 120, UCMJ), and four specifications of false official statement (Article 107). He was sentenced to be reprimanded and to be fined $20,000.

On 20 January 2016, at a Summary Court-Martial, Private (E-1) Kiwon C. Butts, 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, was found guilty of one specification failure to go to formation (Article 86, UCMJ), and two specifications of disobeying a lawful general order or regulation (Article 92). He was sentenced to forfeit $1,044.00 and to be confined for 30 days.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions for January 2016

In Uijeongbu District Court, on 7 January 2016, SPC Myeshia M. Hendrix, 618th Dental Co, USAG Casey, was convicted of traffic law violations. Her adjudged sentence was a 700,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court, on 8 January 2016, PFC Vaughn W. Herrald, E Co, 2-2 AHB-16, was convicted of Intrusion upon Habitation. His adjudged sentence was a 500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court, on 13 January 2016, Capt John M. Pulli, 303d IS, Osan Air Base, was convicted of DUI. His adjudged sentence was a 3,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court, on 18 January 2016, SSG Jerill JC Cotton, 630th CCT, 411th CSB, Osan Air Base, withdrew his request for a formal trial and thus the DUI conviction and 5,000,000 Won fine through the summary order became final.

In Seoul Central District Court, on 22 January 2016, 1Lt Daniel J. Brom, 8th FW, Kunsan Air Base, was convicted of Destruction and Damage of Property. His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court, on 27 January 2016, MSG Channon W. Green, HHC, MSC-K, USAG Daegu (Carroll), was convicted of traffic law violations. His adjudged sentence was a 4,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court, on 28 January 2016, PV2 Audrea N. Johnson, C Co, 304th ESB, USAG Humphreys, was convicted of Infliction of Bodily Injury. His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

Man Who Dressed As A Woman Caught Robbing Men In Itaewon

| February 24, 2016

This is one of these crime stories just begging for a picture, but I could not find one unfortunately:

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Yongsan police have arrested a man who dressed as a woman to steal money and valuables from drunken people in Itaewon.

The man, identified as Kim, 44, allegedly stole a credit card, an identification card and a smartphone from a man, identified as Choi, 46, when he fell asleep at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28.

The two had been drinking together at a pub in Itaewon, police said.

Kim allegedly stole 1.5 million won from three men in Itaewon and the Incheon area last December.

Police said Kim dressed like a woman and befriended men to steal money when they were drunk. He allegedly used stolen identity cards to obtain credit cards, and also bought smartphones. [Korea Times]

Canadian Teacher Arrested for Growing & Smoking Marijuana In His Apartment

| February 24, 2016

He must have been bragging about his dope smoking to have gotten caught like this growing marijuana in his apartment:

A 47-year-old Canadian was caught growing cannabis in his residence and habitually smoking it, South Korean police said Monday.

According to the police, the Canadian national, who had previously been a lecturer at a university in Daegu, smuggled marijuana into Korea from Thailand in August 2010. He then grew it at the balcony in his apartment building, the police said.

The man allegedly set up facilities like a ventilator, electronic heater and reflecting plate on the balcony to grow the weed for years.

He reportedly lost his job as a university lecturer as allegations about him smoking cannabis surfaced at his workplace.   [Korea Herald]

Tweet of the Day: Subway Bump Sexual Assault?

| February 11, 2016

Korean Teacher Receives Six Year Sentence for Sexually Harassing Student

| February 8, 2016

It appears that South Korea is getting serious about stopping sexual harassment in the school system:

Suwon District Court has sentenced a high school teacher in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to six years’ jail for sexually harassing and blackmailing a student.

The teacher, identified as Kim, 38, was also ordered to spend 80 hours at a class for sexual offenders and to have his personal information disclosed for six years.

Kim forced his student, 19, identified only as “A,” to take off her clothes and had sexually harassed her 43 times from August to October last year. He also filmed body parts to blackmail her, police said.

Kim approached the student, offering free personal tutoring, because “A” could not afford private lessons. “A” was preparing for a civil service examination.

The court said it handed down a heavy sentence because Kim forgot his duty as a teacher and treated his student as a sex object.

But the court took into consideration that Kim admitted guilt and had paid 30 million won to the student. [Korea Times]

Bomb Found at Incheon Airport Shown To Be A Hoax

| February 5, 2016

I had a feeling this was a hoax and sure enough it was:

Police have apprehended a suspect who allegedly planted a fake explosive device with a threatening letter written in Arabic at Incheon International Airport.

The Incheon International Airport Police said Thursday that they detained the 36-year-old Korean man, surnamed Yu, at 11:30 p.m., Wednesday, at his home in Guro, Seoul.

The action came five days after he left the package containing a butane gas canister in a men’s bathroom at the airport on Jan. 29.

“Yu admitted that he made the box at home based on methods described in a film, and left it in the restroom,” Chung Sung-chae, head of the airport police, said in a press briefing. “He said he did so out of a grudge toward society.” [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Korean Pastor Kills 13-Year Old Daughter and Keeps Body In House for 10 Months

| February 5, 2016

The horrible crime where parents in Bucheon killed and dismembered their 7-year old son led to a nationwide investigation of kids who stopped attending school.  This investigation caused police to uncover another horrible crime:

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The mummified body of a girl who stopped attending middle school more than 10 months ago was discovered by police in a room surrounded by air fresheners Wednesday.

The Bucheon Sosa Police Precinct on Wednesday arrested the girl’s parents on suspicions of child abuse and murder. Under questioning, the father, a 47-year-old pastor surnamed Lee, admitted to beating the 13-year-old for five hours with a broomstick on March 17 last year. He and the stepmother, surnamed Baek, later found the daughter dead, covered her in blankets and kept the body inside their house for over 10 months.

Baek’s 39-year-old younger sister was also arrested Wednesday on suspected abuse charges.

The girl did not get along with her stepmother, aged 40, and lived with her step-aunt starting in 2012. She ran away from the step-aunt’s home on March 15 last year and called on a former elementary school teacher. The teacher brought her to her parents.

“I asked her why she had run away from her aunt’s home, hit her with a broomstick and a drying rack to discipline her, and told her to go to sleep,” Lee told police in the first round of questioning. “I took a nap in another room and woke up to find her dead.”

Lee and Baek refused to provide a statement on why they kept the body in a room in the house for nearly a year.

The discovery was the result of an ongoing police investigation of 220 children who have been missing from school for unknown reasons. The investigation was sparked by the case of an 11-year-old girl who had been held captive by her parents and starved for two years in Incheon last December. Police have already discovered another grisly find: the remains of a 7-year-old boy were found in his parents’ freezer years after he had stopped attending school. That incident also occurred in Bucheon, Gyeonggi.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Arthur Patterson Convicted in Brutal Itaewon Burger King Murder

| January 30, 2016

What a mess this entire Burger King murder case has been over the past 2 decades, but fortunately some justice appears to have finally be served in this case.  Still 20 years in prison still seems too lenient for this guy:

Arthur Patterson

A Seoul court on Friday convicted U.S. citizen Arthur Patterson of murder in the lurid Itaewon murder case and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, almost 19 years after the murder.

The Seoul Central District Court found the 36-year-old guilty of fatally stabbing Hongik University student Cho Jung-pil on April 3, 1997, in a Burger King in the capital’s popular Itaewon district.

Cho was found dead in the restroom of a fast food restaurant, stabbed nine times in the neck and chest.

“There was credibility in confessions by Edward Lee, while Patterson’s comments were inconsistent and contradicted evidence,” the Seoul Central District Court said in the ruling.

Patterson was extradited to Korea in September to face charges in a reopened investigation into the case and maintained his innocence throughout.

Patterson has denied the murder charge, blaming Lee. The two men were both in the restaurant at the time of the murder, and both accused the other of being the killer.

The court said Patterson’s bloodstained clothes and hands pinpointed him as the assailant.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

Korean Boy Stabbed By Father for Not Helping Make Lunch

| January 28, 2016

This is some pretty harsh punishment for not helping make a lunchbox.  Unsurprisingly the assault involved alcohol:

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A father, identified only as Jeong, 40, has been arrested for stabbing his teenage son for not listening to him, Yonhap reported Sunday.

Police in Ulsan said Jeong stabbed his son, 14, twice – once in the chest and once in the leg on Jan. 13. He told them he stabbed the teenager because the boy did not help him prepare a lunchbox for the daughter, 10. The father was drunk, having consumed half a bottle of soju, police said.

Jeong then carried his son to an emergency room. The boy is in a hospital receiving treatment.

The man recently separated from his wife and was raising the two children, police said. Jeong did not have a criminal record but was arrested to protect the boy, they said  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.