Former NCT member TAEIL, 31, failed to win a lighter sentence on appeal after being convicted of aggravated rape charges. The Seoul High Court upheld his prison term of three years and six months.
On the 17th, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 11-3 affirmed the lower court’s ruling, handing TAEIL the same sentence as two co-defendants.
The panel rejected the defendants’ bid for leniency on the grounds that they turned themselves in, finding no error in the original judgment.
TAEIL was charged last June for raping a foreign woman who was incapacitated by alcohol, acting with two friends.
In its July decision, the trial court said the defendants exploited the victim’s inability to resist and took turns assaulting her, calling the crime especially egregious. The court noted the victim was a foreign tourist who likely suffered significant psychological harm after being attacked in an unfamiliar place.
At a previous hearing, TAEIL delivered a final statement apologizing and asking for leniency, saying he accepted responsibility, understood the harm could not be undone, and vowed to spend his life atoning and to live honestly without reoffending.
After news broke that TAEIL was under police investigation, SM Entertainment announced he would no longer continue group activities and confirmed his departure from NCT.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)