Korean gets four years in prison for Sydney sex attacks

A SEX attacker cried in the dock after pleading guilty to a string of Sydney sex attacks in which he attacked women in the early hours or late at night.

A MENTALLY ill Korean sex offender will serve at least one year in jail for each of the four women he attacked on the streets of Sydney’s CBD before he gets deported.

Yongseok Ji pleaded guilty to nine counts of indecent assault, two counts of common assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent over the attacks that occurred between January and July 2015.

The 27-year-old kitchen hand cried in the dock with his head bowed as he was sentenced in the NSW District Court on Wednesday to a maximum eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Judge Helen Syme said Ji, who it is likely suffers from schizophrenia, is expected to be deported when his four-year non-parole period expires in mid-2019.

Police released CCTV footage in the hunt for Ji. Picture: NSW Police

Since November 2014, Ji had been living in Australia unlawfully on an expired visa and was taken to Villawood Detention Centre in June 2015.

He was given a bridging visa a month later and has been in custody ever since. Judge Syme said all four of Ji’s victims were followed late at night or early in the morning and then violently attacked from behind.

“He aggressively grabbed them without warning,” she said.

Ji touched their breasts and reached up their skirts, roughly sexually assaulting them.

All of the victims managed to flee, with one woman kicking Ji five times to make him let go and another throwing a cup of coffee on him.

All of Ji’s victims managed to flee. Picture: NSW Police

Police were able to identify him using DNA from the fingernails of one woman who scratched him as she tried to defend herself.

Judge Syme gave Ji a 20 per cent discount for his early guilty plea but said his limited English skills will affect his ability to undertake sex offender programs while behind bars.

The court heard Ji displayed psychotic symptoms including hallucinations, hearing voices and fearing persecution, with Judge Syme worried about his risk of reoffending and prospects for rehabilitation.

“His mental health condition is concerning,” she said.

Ji had no prior convictions and had said he was ashamed of his actions, but the judge noted he carried them out to gain excitement and relieve stress.

— AAP