Man Pleads No Contest to Sexual Assault, Invasion of Privacy

A Lancaster man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a State College apartment and taking photos and videos of the act pleaded no contest to charges of sexual assault and invasion of privacy.

Seung Hwan Shin entered the plea on Tuesday, when a jury trial was scheduled to begin in Centre County Court. Shin was charged in April 2016 with rape of an unconscious person, sexual assault, indecent assault and invasion of privacy.

According to the criminal complaint filed by State College Police, a woman said that she woke early on the morning of April 10 and realized Shin was having sexual intercourse with her. She said that when she tried to make noise, Shine quieted her and began kissing her, telling her not to make noise because her roommate was in the next room.

She also said she noticed Shin was holding his phone and tried to hide it behind his back. According to the complaint, she demanded to see the phone and what he was doing with it, but Shin did not respond. She said she grabbed the phone and demanded his password but Shin would not provide it. 

Shin reportedly told police he had come to State College to visit another friend, but had communicated with the woman, whom he met a month and a half earlier, throughout the night by text message and that she asked him to pick her up from a party. He allegedly said he was jealous that she was out with other men. 

Asked by police if the sex was consensual, Shin allegedly said ‘I don’t want to say that she consented but she didn’t say no.’ Police say he admitted that he did not receive the victim’s consent before taking photos and videos.

Police received Shin’s permission to look at his phone and allegedly recovered two photos and two videos of the woman.

The woman, who police said was visibly distraught upon their arrival, said she had never discussed having sex with Shin, and that she did not consent to intercourse or being filmed.

Shin’s plea is for one count of sexual assault, a second-degree felony, and four counts of invasion of privacy, a second-degree misdemeanor.

He is expected to receive a sentence of three to six years in state prison followed by four years of probation, according to the Centre County District Attorney’s office. He will be required to register for life as a sex offender.

Shin will be evaluated by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if he meets the criteria as a sexually violent predator.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 30 before Judge Katherine Oliver.