Child rapist sentenced to eight months in prison for violating curfew rules and damaging ankle monitor

Convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon was sentenced to eight months in prison on Wednesday on charges of destroying a location-tracker and illegally leaving his residence without permission.

The Suwon High Court upheld the lower court’s ruling that handed Cho an eight-month imprisonment and medical treatment in custody in January. It also dismissed appeals raised by the prosecution and Cho. 

After the ruling, Cho appeared agitated, rambling, “If I can run away, I will do so.”

Cho served a 12-year sentence after raping an elementary school student in 2008.

Upon his release in 2020, he has been under curfew rule to stay at his residence in Ansan, Gyeonggi, after 9 p.m.  Later his curfew was extended to include the hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day.

However, he broke the home-confinement order at night in 2023 and served an additional three months in jail.

In late 2025, Cho was referred to the court for violating the stay-at-home order during school dismissal times on four instances between March and June of last year.

Cho was also suspected of deliberately destroying the ankle location monitor at his home.

“The sentence adequately considered the plaintiff and prosecution’s arguments, and the Judiciary found no sufficient grounds to change the penalty,” the appellate court said.

Previously, prosecutors sought a two-year prison sentence for Cho, citing his repeated offenses and unapologetic behavior.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]