Former AOA member Kwon Min-A, also known as Mina, shared news that the person who sexually assaulted her during her middle school years was found guilty.

"The appeals court has issued its ruling, and the rape charges were upheld while the injury charge was not, meaning no significant punishment can be imposed due to the statute of limitations," Kwon wrote on her Instagramon Tuesday. "Still, I don't think the past four years were filled only with pain."

Kwon first revealed that she was sexually assaulted by an older student when she was in middle school during a livestream in March 2021. Kwon mentioned she didn't report the incident at the time out of fear of repercussions.

She announced that the case was referred to prosecutors on charges of rape causing injury in December 2021.

"The incident had happened 14 years ago when I started preparing for the trial, and my heart raced, and I had high hopes [...] when I heard the offender could face severe punishment if found guilty not only of rape, but also of the injury charge, which would mean the statute of limitations has not passed," she added in her Instagram post. The statute of limitations for rape is 10 years, while for rape with injury has 15 years.

While the offender will not face punishment due to the statute of limitations, Kwon mentioned that finding the offender guilty of one of the charges is meaningful.

"From my perspective as the victim, what mattered was whether [the offender was found] guilty or not guilty," she added. "The fact that the offender was found guilty of one of the charges carries tremendous meaning for me. Since it has been revealed that [the offender] is a bad person, I think I can be satisfied with the current results."

Kwon also expressed support for others who have gone through similar experiences.

"It's now an incident that happened 18 years ago, and although I hid due to the societal perceptions back then, I think things have changed now as time has passed," Kwon wrote. "I hope the victims don't blame themselves or try to hide, and I want to tell them to be courageous and speak up for themselves."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]