3 weeks' jail for male ex-teacher, 64, who sent messages about sex toys to 15-year-old male student
SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old ex-teacher was sentenced to three weeks in jail after he sent sexually explicit messages to his 15-year-old male student about sex toys.
On Thursday (Oct 12), the man pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 16.
The offender and victim cannot be named due to a court order protecting the victim's identity.
In response to queries, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday that the offender has left the teaching service.
The man has not been teaching at any school since February 2023, when the case was reported to MOE, a spokesperson added.
"MOE takes a serious view of staff misconduct and will take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service," said the spokesperson.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Lee Da Zhuan told the court that the teacher knew the victim in 2020 when the boy was a Secondary 1 student.
They had a teacher-student relationship.
Towards the end of last year, the teacher started to send phone text messages to the student on sexual topics that included the use of sex toys.
Court documents did not state how long the teacher had been having such text exchanges with the student.
However, DPP Lee mentioned two occasions on Nov 28 last year and Jan 28 this year when the teacher sent the boy sexually explicit messages, including a video of a sex toy.
"The victim was alarmed by the accused’s messages and felt sexually exploited," DPP Lee said.
On Feb 27, the victim made a police report of his teacher's actions.
The prosecution sought a sentence of at least one month, noting that the teacher had abused the victim's trust.
"The accused had acted exactly the opposite of his responsibility towards the victim as his teacher by taking advantage of the victim, sexually texting the victim on multiple occasions," DPP Lee said.
For sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 16, the teacher could have been jailed up to seven years or been fined up to S$10,000, or both.
