SINGAPORE: A secondary school teacher coaxed one of his students into getting into a sexually charged relationship with him, assuring her that they would "keep a low profile" until she graduated, and repeatedly pressed her for sex.
For three charges of indecent acts with a young person, the 34-year-old man was sentenced to a year and five months' jail on Thursday (Jan 23). Four more charges were taken into consideration.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe man and the school cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the victim.
The court heard that the teacher joined the school in 2016 and started teaching the 15-year-old victim's class in January 2017.
He believed that the victim "had a crush on him", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Deborah Lee.
The victim followed the teacher on Instagram soon after he began teaching the class and the man sent her a message on the social media app in May 2017 to congratulate her on a good 2.4km run.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHe sent her other messages in July and August to check how her thumb was, as she had injured it.
FLIRTING ON INSTAGRAM
On Aug 31, 2017, the victim wished the man a happy Teacher's Day. The teacher began flirting with her, asking her when she was going to get a boyfriend to take care of her and saying he thought of her "almost every day".
He also suggested that the victim gift him a whistle for Teacher's Day so that he could "blow" it and make the victim sit in front of him.
The pair's Instagram exchange became more frequent and the teacher told the girl that he "had a dream of sending her home and giving her a forehead kiss".
The girl expressed her discomfort over their age gap, as well as the fact that the man was her teacher. However, he assured the victim that they would "keep a low profile" until she graduated.
He asked her out and they met on Sep 10, 2017, where he took her to a void deck after lunch. There, he hugged and kissed her. He then took the girl to a bench. They sat there for about three hours, with the teacher hugging and kissing the student and placing his hands on her chest.
ASKED TO BE HER BOYFRIEND, ASKED FOR SEX
Later that night, the teacher asked the girl if she would accept him as her boyfriend and she agreed on the condition that they did not do anything she was uncomfortable with. He then tried to get her to promise that she would have sex with him when she turned 17 or 18.
His messages turned sexual after this occasion. When the victim appeared afraid, he expressed disappointment, said the prosecutor.
The duo met a few more times and the teacher apologised to the girl for pressing her for sex. He claimed he was "testing her" and promised he would not ask her for sex until she was 18 or 19.
However, during a conversation on Whatsapp in September 2017, the teacher again asked the girl to have sex with him and to marry him.
The teen revealed that she had told a friend about their relationship. This angered the teacher, who demanded to meet her in person.
They met at a staircase, where he went a step further and molested the girl's chest and buttocks.
GIRL WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE CONVERSATIONS, TOUCHES
The girl was uncomfortable with the physical intimacy and told the teacher several times to stop touching her chest and buttocks. He stopped.
After this, the teacher frequently initiated conversations of a sexual nature, even though the victim was uncomfortable and tried to change the subject.
They met at a void deck on Sep 17, 2017, where the teacher had asked the victim to meet him and accompany him while he marked his students' papers.
The girl agreed as she wanted to talk to him. She sat on his lap on this occasion.
Two days later, the man sent the victim a message saying: "Do you know that you make me hard each time you meet me?"
This sparked an argument between them.
GIRL'S MOTHER FINDS OUT
The girl eventually broke up with the man in mid-October 2017 as she felt guilty for being in a relationship with a teacher.
Before this, the man had continued to try and convince her to be physically intimate with him. If she refused, he would abuse her verbally, even telling her she deserved to be raped when she did not want to meet.
He messaged her on Instagram even after they had broken up, asking if they could be "friends with benefits".
Their secret was blown open when the victim's mother checked the teenager's phone and saw messages between her daughter and the accused.
The girl admitted being in a relationship with her teacher, and the matter was flagged to the school and police.
For each charge of committing an indecent act with a child or young person, the man could have been jailed for up to five years, fined a maximum S$10,000 or both.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education for more information.
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