A young man, who cannot be named due to a court order protecting the identity of his victim, has pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual offences against a person aged under 14.
The now 20-year-old, who was a student and later a full-time national serviceman, sexually abused the girl starting when she was nine years old, according to TODAY. The incidents took place between 2021 and 2022, while the victim was attending Primary 4 to 6 and the teenager was 18 to 19 years old.
The teen had been attending religious classes at the victim’s grandmother’s house, where the abuse occurred. Since 2017, the young man had been attending religious classes conducted by the girl’s grandmother at her home on weekday evenings.
REPEATEDLY MOLESTED HER
According to the report, after one such class in November 2021, the 18-year-old youth sat on the sofa beside the girl in the living room where the classes were conducted. While watching TikTok videos on his phone with the girl, who was 9 years old and a Primary 4 student at the time, the girl’s grandmother was also in the living room watching television.
The grandmother eventually fell asleep.
After realizing that the grandmother had nodded off, he put his arm around the girl’s shoulders and grabbed her waist. He then asked her if she wanted to touch him inappropriately and sexually assaulted her while her grandmother remained asleep before leaving.
The victim felt “deeply embarrassed and confused” about what had happened but did not confide in anyone, Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Claire Poh and Maximilian Chew told the court as per the report.
Two more incidents of sexual abuse occurred when the victim was between the ages of nine and 11, and the young man was 18 and 19. The final incident took place on Jan 23 last year, when the young man was 19 and serving his National Service.
The abuse came to light on Jan 31 when the victim’s teacher caught her writing notes about the abuse in school. After questioning, the girl disclosed that she had been subjected to inappropriate touching by the teenager. The school promptly notified the girl’s mother and grandmother, who then accompanied her to the police station to file a report on the very same day.
A Child Guidance Clinic report revealed that the victim had been deeply affected by the abuse, experiencing sadness, fear, anger, insomnia, loss of appetite, and difficulty trusting others. The prosecution sought a total sentence of eight to 10 years in jail and eight strokes of the cane. They argued that reformative training would be inappropriate in this case, as the young man was not an “immature offender” and the sexual assault was premeditated.
The defense lawyer, Mr. Abdul Rahman Mohd Hanipah, requested the court to obtain a reformative training suitability report instead. He contended that a lengthy jail term for the 20-year-old man would be “crippling” and take away a “large chunk of his youth”.
On Friday (March 8), a judge requested a report to determine the appropriateness of reformative training for the young man who admitted to two counts of sexual offenses against a minor. Six additional charges related to the same victim will be considered during the sentencing process.
The man is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 2. Offenders who commit sexual penetration of a person under 14 years old can face up to 20 years in prison, as well as fines or caning.
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