On September 30th, the Seoul Central District Court ruled against the seven victims of 'Dogani' for the compensation suit they filed against the government, the city of Gwangju and Gwangsangu. The reasons for Seoul Central District Court's verdict was because of the statute of limitations and lack of evidence.
In the case of 'Dogani,' the assaults started from 2000 to 2004, but the report was brought to light in 2005 when two teachers were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the hearing-impaired students. Then, in 2007, the two teachers were brought back into the school as employees after they were let go by the police.
Soon after, former students who attended the Gwangju Inhwa School testified that the teachers had sexually assaulted them every time they had done something wrong. Allegedly, the sexual assaults went as far as the teachers raping the students.
The principal of the school, who was also involved in the sexual assault and rape case, died of cancer in 2011 without receiving any punishment under the law.
The court stated that the plaintiffs were not able to gather enough evidence and the right to file for compensation had already expired in June 2010. The victims filed the suit in March, 2010. The statute for the state's right to file compensation is 5 years.
And because of the lack of evidence and statute of limitation, it was difficult to place the guilty verdict on the accused. The defense attorney claimed, "The statute should have started since the year 2011 when the defendants were diagnosed with injury, trauma, along with depression," but this was denied.
In regards to the oversight of the Education Ministry leading to claims of negligence, the courts stated, "The relationship between the negligence of Gwangju City's superintendent and the sexual assault is hard to see."
Earlier, the Gwangju District Court sentenced former administrator of the school to twelve years in prison for raping a disabled student in April, 2005.
The attorneys for the plaintiffs stated that they would appeal.
Meanwhile, the story of the sexually assaulted victims was portrayed in the 2011 film, 'Dogani,' or 'The Crucible,' starring Gong Yoo and Jung Yoo Mi.
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