SHINee Onew's Sexual Harassment Case To Be Forwarded To Prosecution

On August 14, the Seoul Gangnam Police Station revealed that SHINee member Onew’s sexual harassment case will be passed over to the prosecution as a recommendation for indictment without detention.

According to the police, Onew is receiving a charge for touching a specific part of a woman’s body three times while intoxicated at a club in Gangnam on August 12 at around 7:10 a.m. KST. At the time of the incident, the woman (hereafter referred to as A) was dancing on a platform 30 centimeters (approximately 11.8 inches) from the ground, while Onew was sitting on a chair next to the platform.

After receiving the report from A’s acquaintance, the police arrested Onew and investigated him for five hours before releasing him. He said during the investigation that he does not remember as he was intoxicated. According to one witness, he seemed too intoxicated to stand properly and appeared to be grabbing her leg as support.

The site of the incident is a zone that is not captured by the CCTV (video surveillance). However, the police judged that the main witness account has credibility due to accurate descriptions of the surrounding movements which were captured on CCTV.

Previously, SM Entertainment revealed that A dropped the case because she acknowledged that the incident was something that could happen because of intoxication.

A police source commented, “The victim has received additional damage as her personal information has been revealed because of press coverage. She signed the form to drop charges due to SM’s request, but she testified that there is no change in the fact that the sexual harassment occurred.”

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