A man arrested for unprovoked attacks on children

A man in his 50s has been indicted for unprovoked attacks on elementary school children he had no connection with.

After being on the wanted list for 18 months, the 52-year-old man was charged with assault and child abuse, said the Incheon District Prosecutor's Office on Thursday. The prosecution requested he be detained at a psychological treatment facility following the decision that he has a very high risk of recidivism if not treated medically.

The suspect is alleged to have attacked a girl on June 11, 2021 for no apparent reason in Incheon, and he attacked a nine-year-old boy on Aug. 23, 2022 while he was on the police's wanted list. The man had kicked the boy, resulting in injuries that required two weeks for the boy to recover from.

Analyzing the CCTV footage, the police identified the defendant as the same suspect whom they had been searching for in the 2021 child assault case. The police arrested the suspect last month after tracing his phone.

He is reported to have been walking around carrying a lethal weapon when he was apprehended. He has previously been convicted eight times including several assaults.

The defendant claimed that he attacked the children because they had sworn at him. He was found guilty after the police analyzed the video recordings and questioned the victims.