Man sentenced to 1 year, 8 months for stealing from elementary school classrooms

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A man in his 50s was sentenced on Friday to one year and eight months in prison for breaking into elementary school classrooms and stealing cash and gift cards.

The Daejeon District Court found the 56-year-old man guilty of theft, citing two separate incidents.

The first occurred on April 17, when the man entered a classroom for first and second graders at an elementary school in Ulsan at approximately 2:15 p.m. He searched through lockers and wallets, stealing about 450,000 won ($340) in cash and gift cards.

In the second incident, the defendant broke into another elementary school classroom in Daejeon on April 30 at around 11:50 a.m., stealing valuables worth about 600,000 won from a teacher’s desk and students' bags.

Authorities discovered that the man was aware the classrooms would be empty during lunch hours and entered through a back door.

The court noted that the man has a long criminal record, having been convicted eight times for similar offenses. However, the judge, in delivering the verdict, said the relatively small amounts stolen and the fact that the man had reached settlements with all the victims were taken into consideration.

By Ahn Sung-mi(sahn@heraldcorp.com)