By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter

A court sentenced Kim Kil-tae, a previously convicted sex offender who raped and killed a 13-year old girl earlier this year, to death, Friday.

The Busan District Court imposed capital punishment on the 33-year-old for brutally raping and killing the teenager in the southeastern port city in February.

The court said the criminal showed no signs of remorse for the crime, repeatedly denying his involvement despite overwhelming evidence.

"Kim has denied the charges. But evidence such as his footprints at the victim's house and DNA samples found on the body of the victim are sufficient to prove his guilt," the court said in its ruling.

The court also said that Kim's previous criminal record showed he repeatedly committed crimes against humanity and society.

Kim was first convicted of assault in 1995 and his crimes became more brutal including attempting to rape a minor and abducting a married woman. The repeat sex offender had served a total of 11 years behind bars after being convicted in two rape cases, but was released unsupervised last year.

The court judged that Kim might commit similar crimes after serving a prison sentence in sentencing him to death.

"Considering that he murdered the teenage victim to satisfy his sexual desire and does not regret what he did, there is a need to permanently separate Kim from society," the judge said.

The court also ordered that if Kim were ever to be released or his sentence is commuted, he must wear an electronic monitoring device for at least 20 years.

Kim was indicted for murdering the girl after raping her and abandoning her body in an empty water tank.

He was also suspected of kidnapping and raping another woman earlier this year and stealing money from a beauty shop while he was on the run.

Kim was caught in early March, but denied all charges except for the theft after his arrest, saying he did not remember anything.

He is likely to lodge an appeal to a higher court.

The family of the victim said the ruling was proper. "He got what he deserved, but it won't bring my daughter back," said the father of the victim. "Similar cases should never happen again."

Friday's ruling raised the nation's total of number of death row inmates to 60. South Korea still issues the death penalty, but has not carried out an execution since February 1998.



여중생 성폭행.살인 김길태 사형 선고

여중생을 성폭행하고 살해한 혐의로 기소된 김길태(33)에 대해 사형이 선고됐다.

부산지법 형사합의5부(구남수 부장판사)는 25일 "김이 범행을 부인하지만, 여러 가지 증거로 볼 때 유죄가 충분히 인정된다."라면서 "잔혹한 범죄와 폭력적인 성격 등을 고려할 때 사회로부터 영원히 격리할 필요가 있다."라며 이같이 선고했다.

또 재판부는 김에 대해 20년간 위치추적 전자장치 부착도 함께 명령했다.

앞서 지난 9일 열린 결심공판에서 검찰은 "피해자의 고통이나 유족의 슬픔을 고려할 때 피고인을 사회에서 영원히 격리하거나 제거할 필요가 있다."라며 사형을 구형했다.
김은 지난 2월 24일 오후 7시7분에서 25일 0시 사이에 부산 사상구 덕포동의 한 주택에 혼자 있던 여중생 이모(13)양을 납치해 성폭행하고 살해한 혐의 등으로 구속기소됐다.