Photographer Convicted For Kissing 6-Year-Old Girl on Cheek So She Would Smile for Her Kindergarten Photo
A photographer has been convicted of sexually inappropriate conduct for kissing a six-year-old girl on the cheek during a kindergarten graduation photo shoot so he could get a smile out of her for a picture.
On Tuesday, the photographer was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for three years (meaning that jail time isn’t imposed unless conditions are breached) for kissing the kindergarten child during the shoot by the Jeonju District Court in Jeonbuk State, South Korea.
The court says that his behavior constitutes forcible molestation, even if the photographer claims there was no sexual or criminal intent on his part.
The 43-year-old photographer, who has not been named, has also been ordered to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment programs for his actions.
According to a report by The Korea Times, the charges stem from an incident that took place while the photographer was shooting kindergarten children’s graduation at a daycare center auditorium in Jeonju, South Korea, in November 2023.
In the lawsuit, the photographer was alleged to have touched the stomach and back of a six-year-old girl to get her to smile for the graduation shot. When she continued to sit on the floor instead of posing for the image, the photographer allegedly approached the child from behind, held her face with both hands, and kissed her on the cheek.
The child promptly informed her parents and teacher about the incident. Her parents then filed a police report and obtained legal support from a public defender associated with the Korea Legal Aid Corporation.
The Korea Times reports that the photographer has continued to deny any criminal intent. He claims he just wanted to get the child to smile for her graduation picture.
“It happened while trying to comfort B [the child’s name in court], who wasn’t smiling,” the photographer says, according to the news outlet.
The photographer requested a jury trial, but the victim’s attorney asked the court to deny the request out of concern for the six-year-old’s psychological well-being. The Jeonju District Court accepted the parents’ request and found the photographer guilty of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.
The court says molestation is the photographer’s behavior constitutes forcible molestation because the six-year-old child felt violated, regardless of the absence of sexual intent.
“Considering the victim’s statement that she felt ‘very, very bad and uncomfortable’ and said she wanted the police to help, along with testimony from the daycare teacher, the victim appears to have experienced significant sexual discomfort and psychological trauma,” Jeonju District Court says in its ruling.
Attorney Won Myung-an, who represented the child and her parents, tells The Korea Times that: “This case confirms that even if physical contact with a young child is not intended for sexual gratification, forcible molestation can still be established if the victim objectively experiences sexual shame or aversion.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
