A U.S. soldier convicted of sexual assault will be deported from Korea and banned from reentry for five years immediately, once a court sentence delivered Friday is confirmed. The soldier, only identified by the initial “S,” was given an 18-month prison sentence with three years of probation by Suwon District Court for sexually assaulting a female restaurant owner who had been asleep at her empty shop in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

The court said the sergeant broke in to the restaurant on Oct. 17, 2015 at around 5 a.m., where in a small side room he found the sleeping woman. The sergeant took down his pants, sat the woman on his lap and attempted to kiss her.The court said the woman, 41, was traumatized. However, she was ultimately able to reach a settlement with her assailant. Taking into consideration his previously clean record, the court ordered him probation.Korean law recognizes those who were given probation in a criminal case as targets to be deported. The only case where deportation is not an option is when the guilty party is handed a firm prison sentence.By Lim Jeong-yeo ( kaylalim@heralcorp.com