Man Convicted of Molesting Daughters Found Dead in Cell

A Fountain Valley man was found hanged Saturday in his cell at the Orange County Jail, eight days after being sentenced to 84 years in prison for sexually abusing his three daughters--one of whom committed suicide 14 months ago.

Correctional officers found Kyung Mook (Edward) Cho, 54, hanging from a sheet tied to an air vent in his one-inmate cell about 5 a.m., according to Sheriff’s Lt. Tom Garner. Cho was sentenced on Dec. 17 and fined $20,000.

At the time of his death, Cho was awaiting transfer to state prison. He was convicted in May of 25 counts of rape, molestation and assault on his three daughters over the course of a decade. The victims included 23-year-old Young Sun Cho, who killed herself in 1992.

As with all deaths of inmates in custody, the Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating, Garner said.

In court Dec. 17, Cho’s 20-year-old daughter said her father was “possessed by Satan” and blamed him for her sister’s death. She also accused Cho of using her dead sister as “a slave, a second wife, a second obedient wife.”

Cho, a Korean immigrant and former businessman, denied all the charges, saying: “I have tried to be a good father.”

But Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon also condemned Cho, telling him “your acts are despicable, your conduct is despicable. I do not see why you do not take responsibility for your actions.”