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Mother sentenced to 6 months in jail for hurling feces-soiled diaper at day care teacher

Published: 17 Apr. 2025, 16:45

Diapers are displayed at aisles of a discount mart in Seoul. [NEWS1]

A woman in her 40s who struck a day care teacher in the face with a feces-soiled diaper after suspecting child abuse was sentenced to six months in prison by an appellate court on Thursday.

The Daejeon District Court handed down the sentence to the woman, who was indicted on charges of bodily injury.

The decision overturned a lower-court ruling that had given the defendant a six-month prison term suspended for two years. Both the woman and prosecutors appealed the initial ruling — with the woman claiming the sentence was too harsh, and the prosecution saying it was too light.

The woman was convicted of hitting the 53-year-old day care teacher in the face with her child’s soiled diaper in the bathroom of a hospital room in Sejong on Sept. 10, 2023. The teacher suffered injuries requiring two weeks of treatment.

At the time, the defendant was staying at the hospital with her second child, who was receiving treatment. She had been harboring suspicions of abuse after her two-year-old son was injured at the day care. The assault took place after a heated conversation with the teacher, who had visited the hospital with the head of the day care center.

“Whether the act was planned or impulsive, deliberately smearing filth on someone’s face is clearly intended to humiliate the victim, as judged by common social standards,” the court said. “Even now, a significant amount of time after the incident, the victim continues to suffer from psychological trauma severe enough to prevent her from returning to work as a child care teacher.”

Taking into account the victim’s suffering, the court ruled that the original sentence was excessively light.

Daejeon High Court [YONHAP]

The court further noted that “this was not a simple case of throwing a diaper."

"The defendant rubbed the diaper into the victim’s face to the point where her glasses broke and feces smeared her face, hair, clothing and lenses," said the court. "The nature of the crime is particularly egregious.”

The court added that even while the investigation was ongoing, the woman filed multiple child abuse complaints against the teacher, all of which were dismissed.

The defendant attempted to make a 2 million won ($1,410) deposit at the court during the initial trial and later paid the victim 35 million won under a civil mediation agreement. However, the appellate court did not view these actions as mitigating circumstances.

“The victim rejected the deposit and continues to request a heavy sentence,” the court said. “The defendant has shown neither remorse nor made any attempt to apologize.”

The defendant argued that the incident was not an attack on educators and that her actions were impulsive, prompted by the teacher’s unauthorized visit to her hospital room. The court rejected this defense.

Immediately after the verdict, the woman collapsed in tears, saying, “I have two young children and no one to care for them. I deeply regret what I did. Please give me another chance.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]