Supreme Court Overturns Second-Instance Guilty Verdict in Sexual Assault Case, Orders Re-examination of Scientific Evidence

The Supreme Court has ordered a re-examination of a second-instance guilty verdict in a sexual assault case, where the initial trial had resulted in an acquittal. The case began in August 2021 with allegations that defendant A sexually assaulted victim B in his vehicle.

The first-instance court acquitted A, citing insufficient evidence. In contrast, the second-instance court found A guilty, basing its decision on the defendant's DNA detected on the victim's pants at the time of the alleged assault and damage marks on the garment.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the second-instance ruling. The court raised concerns that the victim's pants, a key piece of evidence for the guilty verdict, were submitted to investigative authorities in January 2024, more than two years after the incident occurred. It also pointed out that DNA from an unidentified individual, other than the defendant and the victim, was detected on the pants. The Supreme Court ruled that scientific evidence methods only carry binding force for establishing facts when there is absolutely no possibility of error or when the possibility is extremely small, highlighting that sufficient examination of the evidence submission process was not conducted by the investigative authorities or the original trial court.