Man is jailed for sexually abusing two young sisters in his care

SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in prison and seven lashes with the cane on Thursday (Nov 21) for sexually abusing two young girls in his care.

The man cannot be named because he is related to the victims, who are sisters. He and their mother are cousins ​​once removed.

He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault, sexual assault and committing an obscene act with a child.

A further ten charges, mainly of sexual assault, were taken into account at sentencing.

The man acted as guardian for the girls and was tasked in 2019 with looking after them while their parents were at work, the court heard.

He began abusing the younger sister that same year, when she was nine to 10 years old, before also targeting the older sister.

The court heard that the man sometimes stayed with the girls and slept next to them in the living room.

From 2019 to 2021, he abused the younger sister four times at night in the living room.

She felt very uncomfortable with the man’s actions and knew they were wrong, but was afraid to say anything, the prosecutor said.

The man also committed sexual offenses against the older sister seven times between 2020 and 2021, when she was 12 to 14 years old.

In one instance in 2021, he molested the girl at Toys R Us at Vivocity, where they went to get a birthday gift for the other victim.

Most of the offenses involved him molesting her at home, and her pretending to be asleep, or stretching or rolling to get away from him.

He escalated this to sexual assault late at night on January 17, 2022, when he and the girl were sleeping in the living room.

The victim woke up to the feeling of the man touching her. She was extremely disgusted by the attack and had flashbacks, the prosecutor said.

She remained deeply disturbed and two days later she told her high school teacher that she had been sexually assaulted.

The case was referred to a child protection officer who alerted police, and the man was arrested the same day.

Deputy public prosecutors Claire Poh and Eugene Lau demanded a minimum of eleven and a half years in prison and seven strokes of the cane for the man.

They cited the vulnerability of the victims given their young age, the abuse of trust in the perpetrator and the fact that the acts took place on the victims’ beds, which were intended as safe havens.

They also pointed out the psychological damage inflicted on the older sister, who still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares caused by memories of the perpetrator, such as a word or a passerby who looks like him.

“Paradoxically, she also feels guilty and worries about her uncle,” prosecutors said.

They also noted that the man had previously committed a relevant crime, as he was imprisoned in 2011 for molesting a teenage girl.

Defense lawyer Jonathan Wong said his client was “consumed by remorse and shame” and argued the offenses were out of character for him.

He cited a report by a psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health, which said the perpetrator could benefit from psychological interventions to address any underlying issues that could have perpetuated his behavior.

The lawyer argued that this meant there was hope for the man to address the underlying cause of his sexual offenses and reform himself completely.

However, prosecutors said there was no evidence of good rehabilitation prospects for him.