SINGAPORE: A young sex offender who targeted underage boys, molesting a 13-year-old and asking a 10-year-old for nude photos, was sentenced to probation on Friday (Feb 1).
The 18-year-old, who cannot be named due to a court order, has to undergo probation for two years and three months, and receive psychological treatment for his sexual offending behaviour.
AdvertisementThe former Institute of Technical Education (ITE) student will be required to perform 190 hours of community service, undergo treatment at a child guidance clinic and take medication as required.
He will also be tracked under the electronic monitoring scheme for at least six months or until he enlists for National Service.
The court heard that the offender, who was studying culinary arts at ITE before dropping out in July last year, met the older victim at a school camp in January 2017.
They met frequently during the school holidays in October that year and often went shopping or to the victim's home.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDuring the last quarter of that year, the 18-year-old frequently molested the victim and spoke to him about sex, despite the victim asking him to stop.
He also asked to see the victim's private parts, but the latter refused.
The offences came to light after the 13-year-old told his older schoolmates during recess on Jan 5, 2018 about how the offender had molested him.
As a group, the schoolmates confronted the accused at the victim's home. The accused called the police, saying he had been "assaulted by a group of boys" and that he had managed to run away.
Despite this, the 18-year-old continued offending, targeting an even younger boy in March 2018 that he had met in a student care programme.
He asked the 10-year-old to send him an obscene photo of himself, but the child refused.
The older boy continued harassing the child, offering him S$10 to have an indecent video call with him.
The boy's mother called the police later that month after spotting text messages sent by the offender.
The offender had pleaded guilty in December to molesting a minor and a second charge under the Children and Young Persons Act. Three other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
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