Supreme Court dismissed ex-B.A.P Himchan’s appeal and sentenced him to 10 months in prison
Former B.A.P member Himchan (Kim Him Chan) has officially been imprisoned on charges of sexual harassment.
On April 30th, Division 3 of the Supreme Court (Chief Judge Oh Seok Joon) confirmed the lower court’s ruling of 10-month imprisonment for Himchan, who was indicted on charges of sexual harassment, in the appeal trial.
Himchan was put on trial for sexually assaulting woman A in her 20s at a pension in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do on July 24th, 2018. Himchan was investigated by the police following A’s report and indicted without detention in April 2019.
During the trial, Himchan denied the charges, claiming “It was not sexual assault because there was mutual affection between the two of us and the physical contacts were done with consent”. However, his defense was not accepted by the court.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Himchan to 10 months in prison and explained, “According to the evidence in the investigation, the victim’s statement is sufficiently credible and supports the charges against the defendant. For these reasons, the court confirms that the defendant is guilty”.
After submitting his appeal, Himchan admitted to the sexual harassment charge he had previously denied.
In the second trial held in February, the court said, “Himchan had confessed to the crime and made a criminal pledge for the victim A. However, considering the severity of the crime and A’s petition for strict punishment, the court concluded that the first trial’s sentence was fair.”
As a result, the court kept the original verdict and sentenced Himchan to 10 months in prison and he was arrested in court.
In addition, Himchan is on trial on charges of touching the bodies of two women on the stairs outside a bar in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul in April last year. He is also known to be under investigation for another sexual assault charge.
B.A.P debuted in 2012 and disbanded in August 2018 when two members withdrew. The remaining members’ exclusive contracts with their former agency also ended in the following year.
Source: Wikitree
