Appellate court grants leniency to teens who harassed classmate for years

Teens convicted of years of violence and sexual harassment against a classmate were ordered to be tried under the Juvenile Act, after an appellate court on Friday overturned an earlier ruling that sentenced them to prison.

The Daejeon High Court reversed the lower court's decision to jail the three defendants, saying the 17-year-olds should be subject to protective detention instead of criminal punishment.

It sided with the defendants' claim that the prison term is overly severe.

The defendants