Child rapist Cho Doo-soon defies curfew, sent back home

Social Affairs

Published: 15 Dec. 2023, 16:35 Updated: 19 Dec. 2023, 16:11

Child rapist Cho Doo-soon defies curfew, sent back home

Police officers patrol around and guard the neighborhood where Cho Doo-soon lives. There is a special surveillance booth. [YONHAP]

Child rapist Cho Doo-soon had an unauthorized night out, defying an order to remain at home, and was sent back to his residence by police earlier in this month, law enforcement said Friday.

Cho left his Ansan residence around 9:05 p.m. on Dec. 4, authorities said.

It was Cho's first unauthorized venture out. Cho is not allowed to go outside between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The offender's relocation was immediately reported to the Justice Ministry's tracking center, which monitors criminals' movements based on electronic signals from GPS-attached anklets. Police officers stationed at a special surveillance booth also spotted Cho leaving his home.

Ansan Probation Office, soon after confirming his breach, dispatched probation officers to the scene, who asked Cho to return to his home and reminded him that he was not allowed to walk outside at night.

When the authorities queried him about the reason why he'd ventured out, Cho said “I fought with my wife. I went out to cool off.”

Cho stayed outside for longer than 40 minutes despite the officers’ requests that he return home instantly.

Cho whined about domestic matters for a while to the officers, the police said.

After listening to Cho’s stories, the officers forced him to return home.

Cho Doo-soon, in green colored winter jacket, is released from the jail after serving 12 years in prison. He walks to the Ansan Probation Office in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Dec.12 in 2020. [NEWS1]

The prosecution office indicted Cho without detention on the charges of violating laws governing the electronic monitoring and curfew of criminals wearing anklets. He was released from prison in December 2020 but required to wear a tracking anklet for the following seven years. He was also ordered not to drink excessively and is barred from entering educational facilities, including schools.

Cho is also prohibited from making any contact with his victim, physical or otherwise.

“The authorities responded to Cho’s unapproved night out promptly through the hotlines with Ansan Probation Office,” an official from the prosecution office said. “They also warned Cho not to make such happenings recurrent.”

“The prosecution indicted Cho considering the need for a prevention mechanism that can shut any chances of re-offense. The authority will review his interview records with probation officers and investigate additionally.”

Cho kidnapped an eight-year-old girl on her way to school on Dec. 11, 2008, and sexually assaulted her after beating her unconscious at the nearby toilet stall. Some of the victim's organs became dysfunctional due to the physical damage that Cho caused.

BY CHOI MO-RAN, LEE SOO-JUNG, CHO JUNG-WOO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]