Singapore — A man who began having sexual relations with his girlfriend’s underaged daughter, leading to her pregnancy, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and six strokes of the cane on Monday (Nov 29).
The man, 29, was reported to have been a father figure to the 14-year-old yet eventually fathered her child in a “disturbing twist of events.”
The man began dating the victim’s mother in 2015 and later moved in with her.
He initially did not have a close relationship with the daughter, as she had been sexually abused by a family member when she was 10 to 12 years old.
By assuming the role of a father figure in her life, the man was able to gain her trust, to the point of calling him “daddy.”
However, the prosecution told the court that the man had a “clandestine sexual relationship with the victim” from late 2018 until June 2020.
The pair began having “consensual unprotected sexual intercourse regularly” while the man’s girlfriend was at work, reported Channel News Asia.
Their sexual relationship continued even though the victim’s “pregnancy was causing too much discomfort” and would engage in other sex acts instead.
In May 2020, the victim gave birth to a baby girl.
The hospital alerted authorities of the teenage pregnancy. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority also notified the police a few weeks later as the victim tried registering the child’s birth with her age being under 16 years old.
CNA reported that the man continued engaging in sexual acts with the victim before his arrest in July 2020.
Prosecutors sought between 10 and 12 years imprisonment and six strokes of the cane for the man’s offences, noting he had “irreversibly altered the trajectory of the victim’s life, forcing her to assume the role and responsibilities of a mother when she is little more than a child herself.”
Meanwhile, the defence argued that the man was “in a romantic and caring relationship with the victim,” noting the situation was not something where he “went into his specific role as a parental figure” to abuse his position.
The man pleaded guilty in October this year to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor, with another 16 charges taken into consideration.
“The accused lived in the home that the victim shared with her mother and was the only paternal figure she had ever known,” said the prosecution, noting that his actions were “reprehensible and must be met with the full force of the law.”
“Not only did the accused exploit the victim’s immaturity and the trust she reposed in him, but he also betrayed the trust of the victim’s mother, with whom he was in a romantic relationship.”
According to a Child Guidance Clinic report, the teen expressed feeling sad for missing out on her dream of graduating alongside her friend in 2020 and would experience “passive suicidal wishes” due to the repeated sexual abuse.
The teen also worries that her child will end up hating her if she discovers her illegitimate birth.
Under Section 376A of the Penal Code, it is illegal to have sex with a person (male or female) under the age of 16, even if the minor says “yes” to the act.
“If the minor is below 14, the offence is called statutory rape, and perpetrators are liable to imprisonment for a term up to 20 years plus fine or caning,” according to the sexual assault care centre. /TISG