Bangladeshi among 69 foreign students accused of raping teenage girl in South Korea

South Korean police have arrested 69 foreign students, including from Bangladesh and Nepal, in Gangwon Province on accusation of raping a teenage girl.

The provincial police said on Tuesday that they have been questioning the students and graduates for allegedly engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with the middle school student on nearly 100 occasions since last December, reports The Korean Times.

According to the police, they lured the victim into having sex through social media by offering snacks and asking her to hang out at their house. The law enforcement authorities viewed this as statutory rape as the students were aware of the fact that the victim was a minor.

Under the Korean law, adults who engage in sexual activity with a child younger than 16, or the age of consent, may be charged with child sexual abuse or rape, if they were aware of the victim's age at the time of the incident.

The case was revealed during the victim's consultation session with her school teacher earlier in August, who filed the police report.

The police have imposed an overseas travel ban on the 69 students, while conducting further investigation on the case.