SINGAPORE: A 28-year-old repeat underage sex offender was on Friday (Sep 14) sentenced to 16 months’ jail for an offence he committed in 2014.
The man met the victim at a chalet in 2014, when he was aged 24, and she, 10 years younger. The names of the accused and the victim cannot be revealed due to a gag order.
AdvertisementThey did not speak the night they met, but in November that year, when their mutual group of friends bumped into each other, he invited them to his house. His family members were overseas at the time, according to court documents.
At his home, the group, including the victim, had alcohol. When the victim needed to go to the toilet, he directed her to the one in his parents’ bedroom. He then went into the room and locked the door.
When the victim came out of the toilet, the man asked her to sit down on the bed and sat down beside her. The man then hugged her, lightly pushed her to lie down on the bed and lay down beside her. He proceeded to kiss her on the cheeks.
“The victim appeared shocked to have been kissed," Deputy Public Prosecutor Marshall Lim said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe man then asked the victim to be his girlfriend but the victim said that she was uncertain, according to court documents. Still, he kissed her on the lips and had unprotected sex with her.
The incident came to light two years later when the victim visited a polyclinic for a urinary tract infection. When she was examined, she informed the attending doctor that she has had sexual intercourse. A police report was lodged as the victim was under the 16 at that time.
On Friday, in asking for the man to be sentenced to 18 months in jail, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Han said that it was not his first sexual encounter with girls under the age of 16. In 2009, he had sex with his girlfriend, who was 12 years old at the time. He was sentenced to probation.
In 2016, he had sex with a girl who was 14 years old. He had been seeing her for a month, and pestered her to have sex with him until she relented. He was jailed 16 months for the offence.
In this case, the man took advantage of the familiarity of his surroundings, cornering the victim, Ms Han said. He also did not reveal his real name or identifying details to the victim, choosing instead to go by "Zayden" the entire time, she said, adding that there was “clearly an asymmetry in power” in the situation.
"It is not inconceivable that the victim would have felt helpless at the hands of the accused," Ms Han said.
According to the Child Guidance Clinic report, the victim has been feeling sad, has insomnia and has had recurrent thoughts about the incident.
“Additionally, she now has difficulty trusting others,” court documents said.
For sexual penetration of a minor under 16, he could have been jailed for up 10 years, fined, or both.
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