7-yr prison term confirmed for pastor for sexually harassing teenage girls

The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a seven-year prison term for a 71-year-old church pastor convicted of sexually harassing two teenage sisters at a children's welfare center repeatedly in 2008.

The pastor has denied the charges that he sexually molested the sisters, 17 and 14 at the time, frequently in his office in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in the summer of 2008, but two lower courts sentenced him to seven years in prison based on consistent testimonies from the victims, and the top court upheld the ruling.

A separate civil damages suit by the sisters against the pastor is also under way. (Yonhap)