Jail for man who molested girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter

SINGAPORE — Left alone with his long-time girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter, a man kissed the young girl on the lips and touched her private parts.

On Tuesday (Jan 8), the 56-year-old man was jailed a year and eight months, after he pleaded guilty last month to one molestation charge. Another similar charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.

Investigations revealed that the man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity, felt that his girlfriend had tempted him by leaving him alone at home with her daughter.

The incident happened on April 12 last year, when the girl’s mother and older brother left the flat to run some errands. It is not known if the four of them live together.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sruthi Boppana told the court that the girl was frightened when the man kissed and touched her, and she wanted to tell the man to stop. However, she could not say anything as his mouth was on hers. After a while, he stopped and left.

Crying, the girl called her mother to tell her what happened. When the mother got back to the flat, she confronted the man in front of the girl and he admitted to his actions.

When the girl’s older brother returned about 15 minutes later, he heard his mother scolding the man for molesting her daughter. He then called the police.

DPP Sruthi said: “The recorder’s notes indicated that a commotion was heard and a woman was screaming.”

The girl was interviewed at the Institute of Mental Health’s Child Guidance Clinic later in July last year. The medical report revealed that she had been feeling sad and fearful since the molestation, and had difficulty trusting others.

Anyone convicted of assaulting or using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person under 14 years old could face a maximum jail term of five years and/or caning, but caning is only for those aged below 50.

Asking for a jail term of at least one-and-a-half years, as well as six more weeks’ imprisonment in lieu of caning, DPP Sruthi said there was a “clear abuse of position of trust” as the girl saw the man as a father figure.

“The accused, instead of accepting responsibility, felt that her mother was tempting him for leaving the victim alone with him,” she added.

The man’s lawyer Henry Lim said that his client was “absolutely remorseful”, did not give excuses for his actions, and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Mr Lim argued that there should not be any extra jail time to replace caning, as the man had learnt his lesson.

When District Judge Victor Yeo questioned DPP Sruthi over the need for the extra six weeks’ jail, she emphasised that caning is “almost always imposed” in serious sexual offences.

“There must be some consequences since he escaped caning purely because of his age,” she said.

In passing sentence, District Judge Yeo disagreed with the need for more jail time, but concurred that the abuse of trust was a clear aggravating factor.

He said: “The offence was more opportunistic than premeditated. There was no use of violence or deception, and the offence did not continue over a sustained period of time.”