A woman's sad story of being raped as a child was recently broadcasted to the world via
MBC's
'PD Notebook' earlier this month. Unfortunately, the story was told too late for the woman to receive any justice.
The rape victim's older sister
'A' posted the full story a day after the broadcast via
Facebook and another online community. According to 'A', her younger sister was repeatedly raped by their uncle 20 years ago when the younger sister was only 11 years old.
The sexual abuse began when the younger sister started staying with the uncle separately from the rest of her family. The uncle habitually raped the younger sister for one year and six months and told her to never tell her family about it. As a result, the younger sister lived with this trauma in secret.
By trying to suppress her pain, the younger sister suffered greatly. When she turned 18 years old, she began to experience panic attacks. In order to prevent an attack, she started binge-eating to make herself feel better. 'A' states that her sister became overweight and was then ostracized from her group of high school friends.
It wasn't until the sister turned 31 that she was finally able to tell 'A' what had happened. 'A', in turn, informed the family and confronted the uncle. The uncle eventually admitted to his crime after being interrogated, but 'A' was upset to find that he could not be punished due to the statute of limitations running out. In other words, his crime was too old for prosecutors to be able to legally penalize him.
'A' wrote on her post, "
We have evidence of his crime and even the criminal himself acknowledges it, but we can't punish him.... I hate this reality like crazy, a reality where the law can't protect my little sister but protects my uncle."
Unable to send her uncle to jail, 'A' tried to instead arrange for a settlement, but her uncle's side refused to give in. 'A' provides screenshots of text message conversations she had with her uncle, where he appears to attempt to dissuade her from continuing her lawsuit.
Uncle: "I guess I don't have the courage to call you now... even though everything is my fault.... What should I do to set your mind at ease.... Let's think about (blurred). And I ask that you give me a chance to purge myself from my sin. I'm sorry. Everyday is painful.... I ask that you take care and think which of your actions is helping [your sister]. I'm really sorry...."
Uncle: "I'm telling you to stop. Don't do this kind of thing so you can live an easily life. You've already done enough, now stop."
'A': "Saying I want to live an easy life... until now, who exactly has been the one living the easy life? You must really not be able to regret [your actions]."
Currently 'A's younger sister is receiving treatment at a hospital, but is still showing symptoms of her panic disorder. According to 'A', her younger sister has even come to the point of thinking suicidal thoughts. Meanwhile, the uncle is reported to be working as a professor at a famous university in Seoul and is residing with his wife and two daughters. His trial appears to be ongoing.
