Police requested arrest warrants for two men who locked up a runaway teenager and allegedly forced her into prostitution, Wednesday.
The Gwangju Dong-bu Police said the men, aged 20 and 18, had invited a 17-year-old runaway they befriended via a chatting app to live with them, then turned violent once she moved in.
The victim stayed with them for 12 days.
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During the time, she claims she was coerced into more than ten counts of prostitution, whereupon the men took the money. One of the men allegedly raped her.
The victim told police she attempted to run away a week after moving in, on June 10, but was deterred and hit by the men. She spent the next five days locked inside the studio flat.
She was rescued on Tuesday around 11 p.m. by a security guard, who found her stripped to her underwear with her hands and feet bound in tape.
While the men had gone out, the victim crawled to the door, opened it with her mouth and cried for help.
The guard helped her report the case to the police the next day on Wednesday.
Based on the circumstances the victim was found in and based on the obvious bruises on her body, the men admitted to confining and hitting the victim, however denied all charges of sexual abuse.
Police are planning to investigate surveillance camera records and the men’s mobile phones.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (
kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)
