Teaching assistant gets jail, caning for sexually abusing 11 boys at after-school care centre

SINGAPORE: Over seven years, a teaching assistant at an after-school care centre sexually abused 11 boys between the ages of nine and 13.

The man, now 30, was on Monday (Aug 22) sentenced to 42 years' jail and the statutory maximum 24 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Fifty-four more charges, including aggravated rape and other sexual offences, were considered for sentencing.

The names of the offender and after-school care centre cannot be published as this could lead to the identification of the victims, who are protected by gag orders.

"This is one of the worst cases of paedophilic sexual abuse of young boys that has come before the courts," prosecutors told the court.

BACKGROUND TO OFFENCES

The man spent his primary school years at the centre and continued to visit it through secondary school and National Service, when he would bring food and drinks, and play basketball with ex-students.

After his National Service in 2012, he started visiting four to five times a week and helped to check students' homework at the centre.

In 2013, the man was given a monthly allowance of S$100 for assisting at the centre. This was gradually raised to S$900 by July 2020.

The man's duties included helping students with their homework, accompanying them during outings and general administration.

He was also entrusted with a set of keys to the centre and had unrestricted access to it.

SEXUAL GROOMING AND ABUSE

The man's sexual abuse of boys at the centre lasted from the second half of 2013 to his arrest in August 2020, when he was 28.

He would gain the boys' trust by buying them gifts, including mobile phone game credits and taking them out for meals and leisure activities.

As he was involved in the administration of the centre, the offender was also known to the parents of a few of the boys.

He got to know a few of the victims' families, spending time with them over the weekends and having meals together.

The abuse started with hugs. He told the victims he loved them and kissed them on the cheek. He also kissed them on the lips when they were alone.

Once the victims were comfortable with him, he progressed to sexual acts with them. These assaults mostly took place at the centre, particularly its toilet, and at the man's home.

On several occasions, the man also abused the victims in a group setting, including making the boys perform sexual acts on each other.

He made 105 video recordings of himself sexually abusing the various victims, which he admitted to watching for his own pleasure later.

Aside from students at the centre, the man also met a 12th victim, aged 13 to 14, through the dating app Grindr. He sexually assaulted the boy at home.

VICTIM ASKED TO STOP

One student at the centre, identified as V4, was abused from the age of nine to 12. V4 became close to the offender when he was in Primary 3 and would approach the man daily for help with his homework.

The offender bought the boy gifts and food, and started bringing him out for movies and dinners in 2014, with permission from the boy's parents.

He hugged V4 daily and did this openly as it was still "relatively acceptable" behaviour for a teacher to hug a student, court documents stated.

The man occasionally walked V4 home from the centre and would kiss the boy on the lips before leaving. He regularly told the boy he loved him.

That same year, the man moved on to sexually abusing V4. In late 2017, after attending sexual education lessons, V4 felt that the sexual acts were wrong and told the man he did not want to continue.

The man agreed to stop. Both of them continued to play basketball and computer games together, and remained friends after the man's arrest, court documents stated.

REBUFFED VICTIM'S MOTHER

Another student at the centre, identified in court documents at V7, was abused from the age of 11 to 13.

V7 and the offender grew close in 2015. The man tutored the boy, gave him in-game items in mobile phone games and regularly told the boy he loved him.

That same year, V7's mother noticed that her son often wanted to spend time at the centre and would only return home late at night.

She later checked her son's phone and saw that the offender texted him regularly, including messages that read: "I love you baby."

V7's mother confronted the man about this as she felt their relationship was inappropriate. But the man rebuffed her, accused her of neglecting her son and blamed her for not taking care of the boy.

The woman wanted to pursue the matter, but the offender refused to give her more information.

After this encounter, the man persisted in contacting V7. He went on to sexually abuse V7 from end-2015 to at least September 2018.

DISCOVERY OF OFFENCES

The offences came to light through a lead from Australian law enforcement officials in April 2020.

The South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team alerted the Singapore Police Force that an email account linked to the offender had received at least 17 emails with links to download child pornography.

Police raided the man's house in August 2020 and arrested him. He was released on police bail and detained on Dec 9, 2020, after which he was remanded.

According to court documents, V7 was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder which has since resolved, while the other victims were not found to have any psychiatric condition as a result of the sexual abuse.

The offender was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and found to have a moderate to high risk of reoffending, especially without robust supervision and monitoring.

"IRREPRESSIBLE PAEDOPHILE"

The prosecution sought 39 to 42 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, highlighting the offender's abuse of the teacher-student relationship he shared with the victims.

"Words cannot adequately express the depravity of the accused's conduct," said Deputy Public Prosecutors Han Ming Kuang and Sean Teh.

"The accused is an irrepressible paedophile who sexually abused 12 young boys over seven years in a premeditated and predatory fashion.

"He exploited the vulnerability of his victims and betrayed their trust to feed his deviant urges."

The man's cultivation of relationships with a few of the victims' families made it easier for him to commit the offences, and harder for the victims to resist his advances, they argued.

The prosecution also pointed to the "sickening, lengthy videos" the man recorded of himself sexually abusing the victims.

Defence counsel Kalaithasan Karuppaya asked for a shorter jail term of 33 to 40 years, citing his client's remorse, cooperation with investigations and plea of guilt.

In her judgment, Justice Mavis Chionh said the man showed "a calculated cunning in the manner he preyed on the naivete and childish sensibilities of his young victims".

Court documents recounted how the man first gained the trust and friendship of the victims by plying them with gifts, then initiated seemingly innocuous physical contact, before moving to full sexual contact.

"This was not an accused person who suffered a momentary lapse in judgment," said Justice Chionh.

"This was an accused who relentlessly and cynically took advantage of his position at the after-school care centre and the access it afforded him to a pool of potential victims to carry on his campaign of sexual abuse for some seven years."

She disagreed with the defence on the offender's remorse, saying it was "telling" that the man failed to show any guilt when V7's mother confronted him about text messages sent to her son.

"He actually sought to turn the tables on V7's mother by accusing her of neglecting V7 and not taking care of him. And he subsequently went on to commit a string of sexual assaults on V7.

"This indicates that the accused felt no remorse about his offending behaviour, and – if not for the police raid – would very likely have continued offending," said the judge.

The man could have been jailed for between eight and 20 years and caned at least 12 strokes for each charge of aggravated sexual assault.