Grandmother admits charges in death of boy chained for 38 hours

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong — The maternal grandmother of an 11-year-old boy with an intellectual disability admitted most of the charges against her after the child died following 38 hours chained to a bed at a church in Cheonan.

The Cheonan Branch of the Daejeon District Court held the trial on Monday for the boy’s maternal grandmother and a pastor, who were indicted on charges including child abuse resulting in death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.

The grandmother and pastor are accused of restraining the boy and leaving him unattended for 38 hours before his death at the church where he lived on Aug. 5. Back in 2021, authorities received a report raising concerns after the boy reached school age but did not enroll. His exemption from compulsory schooling was later approved, and he was homeschooled at the church.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 8:49 p.m. that day after receiving a report that “a child is sick.” The boy had a high fever of 41.5 degrees Celsius (106.7 degrees Fahrenheit) and showed signs of reduced consciousness.

He was taken to Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital in Sejong but died about three hours later while receiving treatment.

Prosecutors detailed the alleged abuse during the trial and called for severe punishment.

“The grandmother struck the child in the face with her palm and abused him after hearing that he had behaved disrespectfully,” prosecutors said. “In particular, on Aug. 2, she applied liquid topical pain reliever around the child’s mouth and eyes, stuffed tissue into his mouth and slapped him because he had told a police officer that he wanted to be sent to a group home.”

The prosecutor explained the moment leading up to the boy’s death.

“The grandmother and the pastor tied the victim up with a chain to make him easier to manage,” prosecutors said. “Although the victim showed symptoms of a high fever and exhaustion, they failed to provide appropriate treatment and left him unattended, ultimately causing his death from multiple organ failure.”

The grandmother admitted most of the charges but argued that she had been away at work for part of the time and did not know the specific details of the pastor’s alleged abuse.

The pastor said she would submit her position on the indictment at the next hearing since the child’s autopsy results had not yet been released.

“We largely acknowledge the alleged abusive acts that [the pastor] remembers,” the pastor’s attorney said. “Because this is a case that resulted in a death, we will comprehensively review the records.”

Investigations by prosecutors and police found that the grandmother and pastor allegedly kept the boy chained to a bed except when he was eating or using the bathroom.

“The child did not follow instructions well and would leave the church and eat at restaurants without paying, which made it difficult to manage him,” the defendants told investigators.

The investigation also found that the boy escaped from the church on Aug. 2 and 3, only a few days before his death. He allegedly told the local residents at nearby businesses that “my grandmother hit me.”

Prosecutors found indications that the boy had been subjected to additional abuse between late July and early August and added child abuse charges against the grandmother during a supplementary investigation.

The grandmother had previously been reported for allegedly abusing the boy in March 2024, but Cheonan’s city government and the police sent him back to the pastor’s church, instead of separating the boy.

The pastor, who was indicted alongside the grandmother, ran the church and was also registered as a personal assistant for the boy and even received compensation for providing disability support services from the city government.

Investigators also found that the pastor had recorded herself as providing disability support services even while the boy was chained up.

The pastor was credited with 120 hours of disability support services for the boy and was paid a total of 2.77 million won ($2,020), according to the data provided by Cheonan’s city government to Rep. Kim Yoon of the ruling Democratic Party.

Cheonan City approved the pastor as the boy’s disability support worker on June 23 after receiving the application in April.

Family members such as parents and grandparents cannot serve as personal assistants for relatives with disabilities under the current law. The pastor was able to register and serve as the boy’s personal assistant because she was not a blood relative.

Police believe the pastor registered as the boy’s personal assistant and continued collecting payments while abusing him.

In light of the case, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced additional measures on Sept. 2 with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korean National Police Agency to strengthen child abuse prevention and response.

Under the new plan, local governments and police would separate a child from an alleged abuser if two abuse reports involving the same child are filed within a year.

BY SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]