SEOUL, Oct 7 — Former Kpop boyband NCT member Moon Tae-il has reportedly been indicted on sexual crime charges.
The 30-year-old idol was reportedly questioned at the Bangbae Police Station in Seoul on charges of aggravated quasi-rape and before subsequently handed over to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office last month, reported Chosun in an exclusive.
Prosecutors have yet to summon the performer who goes by the stage name, Taeil.
Scant details of the charges against the star were revealed, allegedly of of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman, along with two acquaintances (both reportedly not public figures), in June.
Aggravated quasi-rape is defined committing rape while armed with a weapon, or acting in concert with two or more people against a victim who is incapacitated or unable to resist.
If charges are upheld, Taeil could face at least seven years in prison or a life sentence under Article 4, Section 1 of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Other Crimes, reported Allkpop.
He was summoned for questioning two months after the accusation, on August 28. It is believed that none of Taeil’s accomplices are not public figures.
On August 28, SM Entertainment had announced that they had removed Taeil from NCT and its sub-unit NCT 127 due to unspecified sexual crimes after Bangbae Police Station revealed that an investigation had been launched for the same,.
Taeil debuted in April 2016 as part of the boy group NCT U, a subunit of SM Entertainment's NCT, and gained significant popularity, particularly in Japan and China.
He later joined the group’s other subunit, NCT 127.
Despite the investigation, Taeil continued to appear in public events, including the NCT 127 eighth anniversary fan meeting in Seoul’s Jamsil Indoor Stadium on August 3 and 4, and also participated in the group’s recently released full-length album.
SM did not elaborate more on the case as a representative stated, “Since the investigation is ongoing, it is difficult to comment at this time.”
