Rapist of 12-year-old girl gets 15 years' jail

Rapist of 12-year-old girl gets 15 years' jail

Alone at home with his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter, a technician went to the girl's room and asked if she wanted to go to bed with him.

The girl declined and told the 45-year-old man she called "Daddy" to go to Geylang instead.

But that did not stop the man from forcing himself on the girl and warning her not to tell her mother that they had had sex.

The 2009 rape came to light only two years later when the girl was questioned by the head of the children's home where she resided on weekdays.

Yesterday the man, now 50, was jailed 15 years after he pleaded guilty in the High Court to aggravated statutory rape.

Although the offence carries a mandatory minumum of 12 strokes of the cane, the man was spared because of his age.

The parties may not be named to protect the identity of the victim, who is now 18.

The court heard that the man, who was married with two children, got to know the girl's mother in 2000, through his wife, who was a former neighbour of hers.

She was looking for a place to stay and he found them a flat in Circuit Road.

He also looked after the child, who was at nursery, while her mother was at work. In June 2000, he started a relationship with the woman and moved in with them.

No mention was made in court of the man's relationship with his wife, or the girl's father.

In 2006, she went to a children's home on weekdays, going home on weekends. She was usually alone with "Daddy" as her mother worked 12-hour shifts even on weekends.

On one such weekend in 2009, the man went into her room and lay on the bed beside her, saying in Mandarin: "Ah Mei, Daddy is very tired. Do you want to go to bed with me?"

After she told him to go to Geylang, he told her not to "talk rubbish" and went on to rape her. She complied out of fear.

In 2011, the girl was taken for a medical examination after she complained of recurring growths in her genital area to the head of the home. She later confirmed she had had sex with the man.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ramesh Ethan Ananda sought 16 years' jail, arguing that the victim was robbed of her innocence by a father figure who took advantage of her youth in the sanctity of her own home.

The man's lawyer, Mr Irving Choh, asked for 10 to 12 years, noting that he had co-operated with investigations, which showed he was remorseful.


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