Former NCT member sentenced for sexual assault

Taeil, a former member of K-pop boy group NCT, was slapped with a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence on Thursday following his conviction for sexually assaulting an intoxicated Chinese woman in Seoul.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the ruling against the 31-year-old, whose real name is Moon Tae-il, and two accomplices surnamed Lee and Hong, who also received matching sentences and were immediately taken into custody. The court convicted all three of special quasi-rape, a criminal charge involving group sexual assault against victims unable to defend themselves. Judge Lee Hyun-kyung called the crime severe, saying the victim “likely suffered great mental pain from being a victim in an unfamiliar place.”

The incident took place in Seoul’s Itaewon district last June, where the defendants encountered the Chinese national at a bar before bringing her to Lee’s home while she was extremely intoxicated. Despite prosecutors requesting a seven-year sentence, the court showed leniency as the defendants had no prior offenses, entered guilty pleas and settled with the victim. The three men must additionally complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment.

After the allegations emerged last August, Taeil was removed from NCT, while his contract with SM Entertainment was subsequently terminated.