2 hours ago
Image source, Reuters
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Cho Ju-bin was sentenced to 40 years in prison
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A South Korean court sentenced Cho ju-bin, head of the country’s largest online sex harassment network, to 40 years in prison.
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Cho ju-bin was found guilty of managing chat rooms or chatroom paid — where he blackmails dozens of young women to make sex videos, often featuring rape and violence.
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He then sells the videos online via Telegram, an encrypted messaging service.
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At least 10,000 people use chatroom which he manages. Some of them paid up to US $ 1,200 (Rp.17 million) for access.
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From the victim’s side, as many as 74 people — including 16 underage women — were exploited by Cho.
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“The accused widely distributed sexual harassment content that he created by luring and threatening multiple victims,” the Seoul Central District Court said on Thursday (26/11), according to Yonhap news agency.
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The court found Cho guilty of violating child protection laws and running a criminal network that produces and sells videos of abuse for profit.
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The crime network founded by the 25-year-old scholar sells videos by blackmailing victims through chatroom secret on the Telegram application.
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In March, a police commission took the rare step of making Cho’s name public after five million people signed a petition demanding his identity be revealed.
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Activists for women’s protection are looking closely at the case, says the BBC’s correspondent in Seoul, Laura Bicker. The reason is, courts in South Korea are often accused of acting too lightly against perpetrators of sex crimes in cyberspace.
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More than 80,000 petition letters were delivered to the courts to encourage judges to convict Cho’s gang. One of the letters from the victim identified Cho as a demon.
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Cho’s 40-year sentence announced on Thursday (26/11) is actually lighter than the prosecutors demanded, namely life imprisonment.
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Five other convicts were sentenced to prison terms varying from seven to 15 years.
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What is Cho’s crime mode?
Image source, Getty Images
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Cho and others seem to lure victims with lucrative job offers as models or social media dates.
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Each girl who answered was directed to a Telegram account, where the perpetrator attempted to get them to provide personal information – names, phone numbers and addresses, and any information that could be used to blackmail the victim.
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They also ask for pornographic images they think are necessary to get a job. This would later be used to blackmail girls into filming and sharing videos, usually featuring extreme sexual acts and self-harm.
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Cho clearly calls the women ‘slaves’ and sometimes makes the victims call themselves ‘doctor slaves’.
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Cho’s ‘Doctor’s Room’ on Telegram, according to Korean police, charges users up to US $ 1,245 (Rp.17.4 million) as a subscription fee. According to Korean media, another eight “Nth Room” existed before chatroom Cho made.
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