Rapist’s anklet fails to prevent repeat offenses

A monitoring anklet that tracks released sex offenders to prevent repeat crimes. By Oh Jong-taek

A convicted sex offender who was cuffed with an electronic monitoring anklet allegedly committed more sexual assaults, Gangnam police said yesterday, raising doubts on the effectiveness of the security devices.

Police said the offender, identified by the surname Jeong, had been sentenced to five years in prison in 2005 for rape and was released in October 2010. Since then, he has been on probation and has been wearing the monitoring anklet.

According to police, after he was released, Jeong lived in a two-room apartment arranged by a religious group, where his wife and five homeless people were already living.

In his new home, police said, Jeong sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl, and raped a 47-year-old homeless woman three times in February and March. He also sexually assaulted the woman’s 21-year-old son, who reported him to the police Tuesday. Police arrested Jeong Tuesday.

“We were worried that Jeong would commit additional sex crimes, so we issued an emergent arrest warrant, which is an exceptional case,” a police official said. “Jeong was detained until an official arrest warrant was issued [by a court] two days later.”

Police said there was no way to detect Jeong’s alleged sexual assaults, because they were done within his permitted radius of movement.

“The electronic ankle alerts police when the criminal removes it out or moves outside the permitted zone,” a police official said. “If a sex criminal commits a crime within the zone, we can’t block him from doing it,”

The monitoring anklet was adopted in 2008 but a string of sex crimes have occurred by ex-cons wearing them.

On May 24, a 38-year-old sex offender identified as Kim was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old female student sleeping on a bus. Kim was wearing his anklet at the time, police said. In April, police in Jeonju, South Jeolla, arrested a sex offender in his 40s who removed the anklet and tried to flee.

In an effort to decrease the number of sex crimes and pinpoint the location of wearers, the Ministry of Justice in 2008 started cuffing sex offenders who received two or more jail terms for sex crimes; people who repeated a sexual offense within five years after their release; and people convicted of sexual crimes against a minor under the age of 13.

By Shim Sae-rom, Kim Hee-jin [heejin@joongang.co.kr]

한글 관련 기사 [연합]

전자발찌 차고 성폭행ㆍ성추행 일삼아

서울 강남경찰서는 전자발찌를 찬 채 성폭행과 성추행을 한 혐의(성폭력행위 등 처벌에 관한 특례법 위반)로 정모(53)씨를 구속했다고 11일 밝혔다.

경찰에 따르면 정씨는 올해 2월 초 시내의 한 주민 공동 숙소에서 함께 생활하던 A(10)양을 성추행한 혐의를 받고 있다.

정씨는 이 숙소에 함께 살던 B(여)씨를 세 차례 성폭행하고 B씨의 아들을 성추행한 혐의도 있다.

강간치상죄로 징역 5년을 선고받고 지난해 10월 만기 출소한 정씨는 현재 전자발찌 착용 명령과 함께 보호관찰을 받고 있는 것으로 조사됐다.

경찰 관계자는 "전자발찌 착용자가 자신의 주거지 안에서 범행을 한다면 막을 방법은 없다"고 말했다.