Top court strikes down not guilty verdict for Navy captain charged with raping female subordinate

The Supreme Court / Yonhap

The Supreme Court struck down Thursday not guilty verdict for a Navy captain charged with raping a subordinate female officer, sending the case back to the military high court for a rehearing.

In the first trial, the captain was sentenced to eight years in prison for raping the female lieutenant junior grade, but the military appeals court found him innocent on grounds there was no evidence of violence or other threats involved in the alleged rape.

According to court records, the victim underwent an abortion after being repeatedly sexually harassed and raped by another superior, a lieutenant commander, after she was assigned to the unit in 2010. She reported her situation to the captain, but he misused his authority and also allegedly raped her.

The lieutenant commander was sentenced to 10 years in prison in his trial, but the military appeals court also acquitted him. The Supreme Court plans to deliver a verdict on the lieutenant commander later Thursday. (Yonhap)