Aaron Yan gets suspended prison term for sex video scandal
Taiwanese actor-singer Aaron Yan was given a seven-month suspended prison sentence on May 30, ending the sex video scandal involving the 38-year-old and his ex-boyfriend Yao Le, 22.
According to the Taipei Times, Taiwan’s Shilin District Court ruled that Yan had recorded the videos of himself having sex with a minor – when Yao Le was 16 – from December 2017 to June 2018 with the intention of sharing them.
The court handed down a seven-month prison sentence, which was suspended for three years and can be commuted to a fine, after Yan reached a settlement in March with Yao Le, a Taiwanese influencer. The settlement sum was not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement between the two men.
Yan – who rose to fame in 2006 as a member of Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit – was also slapped with another sentence of four months imprisonment for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act, for sending the images to two people.
The four-month jail term was also suspended for three years, but cannot be commuted to a fine, the Taipei Times reported.
In a statement sent to Taiwanese media after the sentencing, Yan said via his management Rise & Shine that he will “continue to contribute to society”. He also thanked the judge for the “clear judgment and for noting his sincere self-reflection”.
Yao Le exposed his relationship with Yan on social media on June 20, 2023, revealing that they got together in 2017 when he was 16 and Yan was 31. He also claimed Yan was two-timing him.
Yao Le further accused Yan of rape and taking videos of them having sex without his consent. The videos were leaked in 2018.
Yan admitted to their past relationship and claimed the videos might have been leaked after he had sent his mobile phone for repairs.
On June 21, 2023, Yan gatecrashed Yao Le’s press conference, bowing and apologising to the influencer twice before leaving the venue.
The press conference was to offer the media more details about his relationship with Yan.
Yan’s rape charge was dismissed in December 2023 due to insufficient evidence.
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