Three U.S. soldiers who harassed Korean women at a water park are likely to avoid prison as they were given a two-year probation, though a court in Gyeonggi Province sentenced them to jail terms between six and 10 months on Wednesday.

According to the Suwon District Court, the three U.S. Forces soldiers hit employees and sexually harassed two female staff members at the Caribbean Bay water park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in May.

The accused were found to have begun smoking inside the water park, which is part of the Everland theme park.

While female employees guided them to a smoking area, one soldier allegedly stroked one of the women on the back repeatedly.

Another soldier is said to have held a female employee’s hand after a high-five and told her she was sexy. The police said that these allegations would have to be verified in an investigation.

The soldiers were eventually asked to leave. As they exited, they were verbally abusive to staff. An employee told the police that one of the soldiers punched him in the face. The three soldiers and other staff members ended up in a brawl.

The water park staff reported the soldiers to the police at around 1:30 p.m. When the officers tried to take them to the police station and handcuff them, the soldier who had punched the staff member’s face allegedly spat in an officer’s face.

The three are from the 210th Field Artillery Brigade based in Camp Casey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Col. Michael J. Lawson, commander of the brigade said that “the incident is not representative of the favorable relationship between U.S. soldiers and Korean citizens.”

The soldiers were investigated without detention and afterwards picked up by a U.S. military representative. The USFK officers arrived back at the camp around midnight. The U.S. military explained in a statement that due to miscommunication, the representatives were delayed in responding to the accident. They vowed to “improve the response time.”

Police said that an investigation without detention for such offenses was standard for all residents in Korea, and was not favorable treatment for the soldiers.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)