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Digital sex crime ring 'Pastor's Room' leader and 10 accomplices indicted

Published: 23 Apr. 2025, 18:51

Mugshots of Kim Nok-wan, the leader of a Telegram sex crime ring [YONHAP]

Kim Nok-wan, the 33-year-old leader of a large-scale Telegram sex crime chatroom referred in Korean media as the “Pastor’s Room,” and 10 accomplices were indicted on Wednesday.

The Telegram chat room the criminals operated in was themed around Christian imagery, with the sex crime ring members' hierarchical positions themed after the Christian church.

Prosecutors believe the criminal group was composed of “senior evangelists,” “junior evangelists” and “reserve evangelists,” with Kim as the leader, dubbing himself as the “pastor,” and operated in a structure where the "evangelists" lured victims, connected them to Kim and produced and distributed sexually exploitative material.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had indicted Kim and sent 10 others to trial, including a 21-year-old who was designated as a "senior evangelist" in the group.

Kim was indicted on Feb. 12 for allegedly organizing a digital sexual assault criminal organization, “Vigilante,” from May 2020 to January, acting as its leader and sexually assaulting children and adolescents, as well as producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials.

Investigations by prosecutors revealed that the criminals allegedly forced some of the underage victims to have sex in order to “graduate from slavery.” Through further investigation, prosecutors identified 10 new victims, bringing the total to 27 victims, including 17 victims whose accomplices were previously convicted in the case, leading to the additional indictment on Wednesday.

Six of the 10 indicted accomplices are teenagers, including a 17-year-old man who joined Vigilante from October to December 2023 and served as a senior evangelist, producing 158 sexually exploitative videos and distributing 53 of them.

The man is also accused of simulated rape and illegally filming the victim. He is accused of acting in concert with three other male group members, aged 15, 16, and 17, who also acted as "evangelists," of producing and distributing multiple sexually exploitative videos and coercing and threatening the victims.

Screen capture of digital sex crime chatroom on messenger platfrom Telegram by nonprofit organization ReSET. Photo is not directly related to the article. [RESET]

A 34-year-old female part-time worker was also indicted on March 17 on charges of producing 165 sexually exploitative videos, simulated rape of two victims, and illegally filming them, prosecutors said.

On April 11, prosecutors requested arrest warrants for five people, including a 21-year-old "senior evangelist," based on their positions in the group and the extent of their involvement in the crimes. But the court dismissed the warrants on March 16 for four of the requests, saying they are or were juveniles at the time of the crimes and there is no concern about them fleeing or destroying evidence.

The number of victims in this case is more than three times that of the notorious "Doctor’s Room" case of 2019 to 2020, in which Cho Ju-bin blackmailed 73 individuals into making child and adolescent sexual exploitation video clips that he sold online through encrypted Telegram chatrooms.

Prosecutors also said they helped the victims with psychological treatment, deleting illegal videos and blocking access to the chatrooms on Telegram through the Korea Communications Commission.

BY YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]