SINGAPORE: An external camp instructor kept in contact with a 15-year-old student on social media after running a three-day school camp for her secondary school class, despite knowing his company did not allow this.
Ilyas Mohd Yusoff, now 24, began sending sexual messages to the girl and asked her to have sex with him, before sending a photo of his private parts to her on social media app Snapchat.
The girl reported the matter to her school, and the police got involved.
Ilyas was sentenced on Monday (Sep 1) to eight weeks' jail. He pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally causing a minor to observe a sexual image, with another charge taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court issued a gag order protecting the victim's identity, and her secondary school as well as Ilyas' company were not named in court papers.
The school engaged Ilyas' company to run a school camp in March 2023.
He was attached to the victim's class and interacted with her during the camp.
Ilyas and the victim followed each other on Instagram following the camp's conclusion. He was aware that instructors were not to maintain contact with students after the camp.
He initiated conversations with her, and the pair continued interacting over Telegram from March to May 2023.
Ilyas later asked to add her on Snapchat, so he could send images that disappeared after some time.
He started "sexting" the victim on Snapchat when he felt "horny", about once a week. He would typically have regular conversations with her before they took on a sexual tone.
He also shared his sexual preferences with her and told her that he would get "aroused" when she threatened him. He also asked her to have sex with him. At all times, he knew she was 15.
On May 1, 2023, Ilyas sent the victim a picture of his private parts via Snapchat. He wanted the victim to blackmail him and threaten him with leaking the photo, as he was sexually aroused by being blackmailed in this manner, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim.
When the victim saw the photo, she felt disgusted, the court heard.
The victim felt uncomfortable and felt that Ilyas was harassing her by continuing to message her on Snapchat and Telegram.
She reported the incident to her school, and the police were later called in.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim asked for 12 to 15 weeks' jail for Ilyas, saying he was fully aware of the victim's age and also of the "sheer inappropriateness" of contacting the victim after the camp ended.
He also proceeded to sext the victim for an "extended period of time" leading up to the offence involving the photo, said Mr Lim.
Ilyas has no prior convictions.
His lawyer, Mr Ashvin Hariharan from Ashvin Law, sought six to eight weeks' jail instead.
In his written mitigation plea, he said that Ilyas was awaiting enlistment into National Service when he became a facilitator assigned to the victim's school.
He was an independent contractor with a training consultancy conducting team-building activities for schools, and there was no abuse of trust as it was not a teacher-student situation, said Mr Hariharan.
He added in his mitigation plea that the victim had approached Ilyas on the last day of the camp and asked him repeatedly for his Instagram account details.
He refused as he knew it was prohibited by his company, but the victim found his profile on Instagram and followed him, so Ilyas followed her back, said the lawyer.
As for the messages about sex, Ilyas claimed that he only sent them in the context that they would engage in intercourse after the victim turned 16, said Mr Hariharan.
He said his client had no intent to harass the victim by messaging her, although he did not object to the fact that the victim may have felt this way.
The judge said she was "more inclined" to agree with the jail term range suggested by the defence counsel.
She considered, among other factors, Ilyas' age and clean record, as well as the fact that he had sent a photo instead of a video.
For intentionally causing a minor to observe a sexual image, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
Continue reading...
Ilyas Mohd Yusoff, now 24, began sending sexual messages to the girl and asked her to have sex with him, before sending a photo of his private parts to her on social media app Snapchat.
The girl reported the matter to her school, and the police got involved.
Ilyas was sentenced on Monday (Sep 1) to eight weeks' jail. He pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally causing a minor to observe a sexual image, with another charge taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court issued a gag order protecting the victim's identity, and her secondary school as well as Ilyas' company were not named in court papers.
The school engaged Ilyas' company to run a school camp in March 2023.
He was attached to the victim's class and interacted with her during the camp.
Ilyas and the victim followed each other on Instagram following the camp's conclusion. He was aware that instructors were not to maintain contact with students after the camp.
SEXUAL CONVERSATIONS
He initiated conversations with her, and the pair continued interacting over Telegram from March to May 2023.
Ilyas later asked to add her on Snapchat, so he could send images that disappeared after some time.
He started "sexting" the victim on Snapchat when he felt "horny", about once a week. He would typically have regular conversations with her before they took on a sexual tone.
He also shared his sexual preferences with her and told her that he would get "aroused" when she threatened him. He also asked her to have sex with him. At all times, he knew she was 15.
On May 1, 2023, Ilyas sent the victim a picture of his private parts via Snapchat. He wanted the victim to blackmail him and threaten him with leaking the photo, as he was sexually aroused by being blackmailed in this manner, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim.
When the victim saw the photo, she felt disgusted, the court heard.
The victim felt uncomfortable and felt that Ilyas was harassing her by continuing to message her on Snapchat and Telegram.
She reported the incident to her school, and the police were later called in.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim asked for 12 to 15 weeks' jail for Ilyas, saying he was fully aware of the victim's age and also of the "sheer inappropriateness" of contacting the victim after the camp ended.
He also proceeded to sext the victim for an "extended period of time" leading up to the offence involving the photo, said Mr Lim.
Ilyas has no prior convictions.
His lawyer, Mr Ashvin Hariharan from Ashvin Law, sought six to eight weeks' jail instead.
VICTIM APPROACHED HIM: DEFENCE
In his written mitigation plea, he said that Ilyas was awaiting enlistment into National Service when he became a facilitator assigned to the victim's school.
He was an independent contractor with a training consultancy conducting team-building activities for schools, and there was no abuse of trust as it was not a teacher-student situation, said Mr Hariharan.
He added in his mitigation plea that the victim had approached Ilyas on the last day of the camp and asked him repeatedly for his Instagram account details.
He refused as he knew it was prohibited by his company, but the victim found his profile on Instagram and followed him, so Ilyas followed her back, said the lawyer.
As for the messages about sex, Ilyas claimed that he only sent them in the context that they would engage in intercourse after the victim turned 16, said Mr Hariharan.
He said his client had no intent to harass the victim by messaging her, although he did not object to the fact that the victim may have felt this way.
The judge said she was "more inclined" to agree with the jail term range suggested by the defence counsel.
She considered, among other factors, Ilyas' age and clean record, as well as the fact that he had sent a photo instead of a video.
For intentionally causing a minor to observe a sexual image, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
Continue reading...