Convicted Child Molester Works as Professor Here

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

An American who was stripped of his teaching license for child molestation in the United States has worked as a professor here for the last 10 years, immigration officials said Monday.

The unidentified American was convicted of child molestation in 1996 when he was a middle school teacher in California. He was put behind bars for six months in 1997 for molesting girls aged less than 14 in his office.

The man acknowledged that he was found guilty but said his criminal record was removed in 2002 as a local court there defined his crime as minor, according to CBS radio. But he said the FBI still holds his record. He was fired from the school and stripped of his teaching license at that time.

In 1999, he came to Korea and has worked as a lecture or professor at several colleges in South Jeolla Province and Daejeon. He is currently teaching at a university in Daejeon.

The Daejeon Immigration Office has recently reported the case to the Ministry of Justice. It did not disclose his name or the name of the school.

According to the immigration regulations, foreigners coming here as English lecturers (E-2 visas) at primary and secondary schools are required to submit their criminal records. But the regulations are not applied to those coming as professors with E-1 visas.

``Foreigners who are highly likely to disturb public order can be deported. But we cannot say for now what actions the authorities or the school will take,'' a justice ministry official said.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr

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