American teacher says he drank 7 bottles of soju on day he allegedly molested 5-year-old student

An American teacher at a well-known private language academy in Busan accused of sexually molesting a 5-year-old girl in class testified in court that he was dead drunk on the day of the incident.

A image of a gavel [JOONGANG ILBO]

An American teacher at a well-known private language academy in Busan accused of sexually molesting a 5-year-old girl in class testified in court that he was dead drunk on the day of the incident.

The teacher in his 30s, whose name was withheld, appeared at the Busan District Court Tuesday for his first trial on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Korea’s immigration law.

He was indicted for repeatedly molesting a 5-year-old student during class at a private language academy in Busan’s Dongnae District on May 22. He claimed to have been drunk at the time.

According to prosecutors, the teacher said he drank seven bottles of the Korean spirit soju on the day that he allegedly molested the student during an English class .

He is also accused of violating immigration law by teaching English without an E-2 visa after entering the country on a tourist visa in March.

His lawyer asked the bench for “time to reach an agreement with the victim’s side,” arguing that the defendant admitted to the charges against him and reflected on his actions.

However, a lawyer for the victim’s side asked the court to consider a petition from the victim’s family urging the bench to punish the defendant severely.

The private language academy that hired the American teacher is a major franchise with about 60 branches nationwide.

The Busan Metropolitan City office of Education has launched an inspection of all 525 private academies in the city that have hired foreign teachers to check if any of their foreign instructors have criminal records.

BY HA SU-YOUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]