Two daycare teachers who abused toddlers nearly 200 times have been given suspended prison terms.
Judge Kim Ki-ho of the Incheon District Court on the 6th sentenced a 65-year-old daycare teacher, identified only as A, to 10 months in prison suspended for two years, and a 30-year-old colleague, identified as B, to one year and six months in prison suspended for three years, legal sources said. Both were indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.
The court also ordered each of them to complete 40 hours of child abuse counseling courses and barred them from working at child-related institutions for five years. B was additionally ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.
The two were put on trial on charges of habitually abusing children aged 2 and 3, both physically and emotionally, while working as teachers at a daycare center in Incheon's Seohae District from March to April 2024.
Investigators confirmed 69 instances of abuse by A and 127 by B.
A was found to have taken a toy away from a 2-year-old and struck the child on the forehead three times for not following instructions, and to have wiped the mouths and noses of five children with a single wet wipe.
B was found to have repeatedly committed abuse, including hitting a 3-year-old on the back, also for not following instructions.
"The defendants, as daycare teachers, had a duty to raise children in a healthy manner, yet they abused young children in need of protection, which makes their conduct highly blameworthy," Kim said. "The offenses caused harm to the physical and mental development of the victimized children."
The judge added, however, that "A has admitted to most of the offenses and B to all of them, and both have expressed remorse." He said the court took into account that A had reached settlements with some of the children and deposited a certain amount with the court, and that neither defendant had a prior criminal record.
