Taichung man was given probation after sexually assaulting a female netizen he met through a dating app

A man surnamed Liu in Taichung met Xiaoli (pseudonym) from a dating app the year before last. Xiaoli made an appointment to chat with her at her rental house in Shalu, Taichung in the early morning. Unexpectedly, Mr. Liu became interested. At about 7 o'clock in the morning that day, despite Xiaoli's objections, he forced her on the bed and sexually assaulted her. Xiaoli Afterwards, he called the police and filed a complaint. During the trial at the Taichung District Court, Liu Nan confessed to the crime and apologized to Xiaoli in court. The two parties reached a mediation agreement with a price of 300,000. The judge recognized that Liu had a mind for self-reflection and was sentenced to 1 year and 7 months in prison according to the crime of forced sexual intercourse. He was also suspended for 3 years and can appeal.

The verdict pointed out that the man surnamed Liu met Xiaoli (pseudonym) on the dating app SUGO on March 1, 2024. At around 2 a.m. on March 9 of the same year, Liu was invited by Xiaoli to go to a rental house in Shalu, Taichung to chat. At around 7am that day, he forced Xiaoli on the bed and sexually assaulted her. Xiaoli was not willing to be humiliated and went to the police station to report the case. The prosecutor prosecuted her for the crime of forced sexual intercourse.

Please read on...

During the trial at the Taichung District Court, Mr. Liu confessed to the crime. The judge believed that the crime of forced sexual intercourse that Mr. Liu committed was "fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years." However, considering that Mr. Liu confessed to the crime during the trial, reached mediation with Xiaoli, and apologized to Xiaoli on the spot, it was accepted by the prosecutor. Liu Nan was also willing to pay Xiaoli NT$300,000, so Article 59 of the Criminal Law applied to reduce his sentence.

The Taichung District Court believed that in order to satisfy his own desires, Liu Nan made an appointment with Xiaoli at a rental house to chat. He knew that Xiaoli had no intention of sexual intercourse, but committed a crime of forced sexual intercourse, which caused Xiaoli's inner trauma. What he did was really inappropriate. It was considered that although Liu Nan denied committing the crime during the preparation process, he confessed to the crime during the trial, reached mediation with Xiaoli, and paid part of the compensation. According to the crime of forced surrender, he was sentenced to 1 year and 7 months in prison.

The judge believed that Mr. Liu had no criminal record and violated the criminal chapter due to a moment of carelessness. After the crime, he had reflected on himself and reached mediation with the victim. After the investigation process and the sentence, he should be vigilant and believed that there was no risk of re-offending. Therefore, he was suspended for 3 years and could appeal.