Former secondary school allied educator admits to molesting 13 male students over 3 years

SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old former allied educator pleaded guilty on Thursday (Oct 27) to molesting 13 schoolboys, who were members of a co-curricular activity (CCA) that he oversaw, from 2015 to 2018.

The Singaporean man cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victims' identities.

He admitted to two counts each of molestation and molesting a minor under 14, along with one charge each of harassment and sexual exploitation of a child or young person.

Another 23 similar charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing at a later date.

The Ministry of Education (MOE)'s website states that allied educators work with teachers to nurture and develop students "by raising the quality of interaction with every child".

Before considering what sentence to mete out, District Judge Prem Raj ordered the accused to undergo a psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health within the next four weeks.

The judge said that he wanted the assessing psychiatrist to comment on two specific issues:

• Whether or not the accused was suffering from any condition or disorder during his offences
• What his risk of recidivism is, meaning if he will continue committing crimes even after having been punished

The accused's lawyer, Mr Gino Hardial Singh, confirmed that another psychiatrist had suggested a risk assessment but his client could not get one due to financial constraints.

District Judge Raj increased the accused’s bail from S$20,000 to S$25,000 in light of his conviction.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that the accused started working as an allied educator at the secondary school in 2008. He taught English and literature and also served as the coach for a CCA.

The school, which is located in central Singapore, and the CCA cannot be named due to the court order.

Between end-2015 and 2018, he molested 13 boys who were members of the CCA. These acts usually took place in a laboratory used by CCA members. 

Most of his victims were executive committee members of the CCA who had permission to enter the area, while other CCA members had to seek permission from the accused to do so. 

Even though the accused had a cubicle in the teachers' office, he effectively treated the lab as his personal staff room. 

He ensured that the window blinds in the lab were always closed, and reminded the students that "whatever happens in the lab stays in the lab".

He would either call the victims over to his table and touch them inappropriately while talking to them, or go over to them in the lab and molest them while they were working or changing clothes.

Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Lee Zu Zhao and Tan Hsiao Tien told the court: "In the lab and within the executive committee, the accused created an environment where inappropriate touching by him was normalised on the pretext of him acting affectionately in a brotherly or playful manner."

VICTIM CALLED AWARE FOR HELP

One victim joined the CCA in 2016 when he was in Secondary 1.

The following year, while discussing CCA-related matters with the accused, the teacher commented that the boy's leg was hairy and asked if his groin area was also hairy.

When the boy did not respond, the teacher offered to show him his own pubic hair.

Even though the boy said no, the accused pulled down his pants slightly, then plucked out some of his pubic hair and held it near the boy's face.

The accused targeted another boy around 2016 to 2017, kissing him on the lips in the lab.

This second victim called the helpline of a sexual assault care centre run by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware). 

However, when a case manager contacted him for a follow-up, the victim did not respond because he was afraid.

Another victim, then aged 13, joined the CCA when he was in Secondary 2.

In October 2018, the accused touched his genitals over his shorts and asked him if he was having an erection. The boy was shocked and left the lab, but did not dare to confront the teacher or express his discomfort out of fear.

He began going to the lab less often because of this.

The man also molested a student during the CCA's annual informal overnight chalet. The victim had fallen asleep on a sofa, only to wake up in a bedroom and find the accused molesting him.

The offences only came to light in October 2018 when a CCA member told his mother that he had seen the accused touching and kissing his friends.

When queried by the judge on why the accused was only charged in December last year, DPP Lee revealed that the police “took quite a bit of time” to interview many students from several cohorts, as well as to gather evidence.

When the police handed the case over to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the prosecution also had to take some time to interview the same witnesses and victims, some of whom had left the school by then, DPP Lee added.

Those convicted of molesting a minor can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of the three.

In response to TODAY's queries on Thursday, MOE said that the man has not been employed by the ministry since November 2018.

It did not disclose the exact manner in which he left.

"MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service," it added.