Jailed for involving minor in threesome

IN THE first case of its kind, a man who caused a minor to have sex with an 18-year-old part-time model was sentenced to six months in jail yesterday.

The 41-year-old former IT specialist, who cannot be named, took photographs of the poses and sexual acts between the boy, then 15, and the teenage model, whom he had hired for a "couple shoot" at Conrad Centennial Hotel some time in late October or early November in 2012.

At some point, he took off his clothes and joined them on the bed, engaging in sexual activity with the girl while the camera snapped photographs in auto mode.

The court heard that the minor came to know the accused, a Singapore permanent resident from India, in late October 2012 when the accused advertised online for an "extra man" to "fulfil my girlfriend's fantasies".

Curious, the minor wanted to find out more and clicked a link confirming that he was aged 18 or older.

The two chatted online, and the teen sent the accused a photograph as requested and told him that he was 18.

That weekend, the accused met the minor and the model at the hotel lobby, and they proceeded to the room.

There, the model, who had done photo shoots for the accused before, told the minor she was a second-year polytechnic student who had just dropped out of school. He, in turn, said he was a first-year student at the Singapore Polytechnic.

The court heard that the minor felt uncomfortable and awkward during the photography session, but was assured by the accused that the photographs were meant only for his personal use.

In his brief grounds of decision, District Judge Victor Yeo Khee Eng said a custodial sentence was clearly warranted to send a clear message that such offences will not be condoned or tolerated.

He felt that the fact the accused did not directly engage in sex with the minor was hardly a mitigating factor.

"The accused was not a mere bystander or a passive photographer in this entire episode.

He was an active participant and was engaging in a sexual activity with the very same girl at the very same time and place as the minor.

"Where a minor below 16 years of age is brought into the sexual equation, introduced to and made to participate in the sexual activity involving a threesome, and with the images captured (via) photography, surely that would aggravate rather than mitigate the offence," he said.

Judge Yeo also said there was an element of deception, and the minor was misled into thinking he was helping the accused and his "girlfriend", when this was far from the truth.

"Furthermore, I was particularly perturbed by the fact that there was a strong element of moral corruption on the minor, who was a virgin at the material time," he said.

The accused, who will start his sentence on Monday, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 12, 2015.
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