Liberians sentenced to 9 years in Busan rape case

In addition to prison time, the court ordered the two Liberians to have their personal information publicly disclosed for seven years, including their names and photos, and that they be barred from jobs that involve children or teenagers.

Left, Moses Owen Brown and Daniel Tarr. The two were sentenced to nine years in prison for raping middle school girls in Busan. [FACEBOOK CAPTURE]

A court has sentenced two Liberians to nine years in prison each for raping a pair of middle school students.

Busan District Court on Wednesday ruled that the rape of two teenage girls and their forced confinement by the two men during a visit to Korea last year constituted a serious crime.

The court added that despite the severe trauma suffered by the victims, the defendants continue to deny their crimes while making excuses to avoid responsibility.

In addition to prison time, the court ordered the two Liberians to have their personal information publicly disclosed for seven years, including their names and photos, and that they be barred from jobs that involve children or teenagers.

Daniel Tarr, 54, and Moses Owen Brown, 37, were accused of raping two girls in their hotel room last September while visiting Busan to attend an event jointly organized by the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the International Maritime Organization.

Brown was Liberia's permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization, while Tarr was the director of Liberia’s Department of Marine Environment Protection.

The two men reportedly lured a 14 and 16-year-old who were passing Busan Station with food and alcohol to their hotel room.

They reportedly requested sexual intercourse using a mobile translation app but were rejected. The girls claimed that they were raped after they failed to run out of the room.

Brown and Tarr also locked themselves and the girls in the hotel room for 20 minutes when friends showed up and banged on the door at around 11 p.m.

The police arrived at the scene after a call from one the girls' friends.

They broke into the hotel room after hearing the girls' screams, begging their captors not to beat them.

The two Liberians pleaded innocence, claiming that the girls told them they were in their 20s and that the sex was consensual.

The two men also argued that the girls were not held against their will, pointing to video footage showing that the girls were briefly outside the hotel room but did not call out for help.

The judge, however, rejected the arguments, noting the girls were only dressed in hotel gowns and slippers while most of their personal items remained in the room.

The judge also said it was understandable that the girls did not call out for help at first since they were only teenagers and didn’t want their family and friends to know what they had gone through.

The judge added that the victims’ testimony was consistent and highly plausible.

The two defendants also argued that they locked their hotel rooms only because strangers were banging on their door.

They claimed that the allegations were racist and requested diplomatic immunity, which was denied.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]