Man took photos of minor taking part in threesome

Man took photos of minor taking part in threesome

SINGAPORE - An Information technology specialist photographed a minor having sex with a teenage part-time model in a threesome with himself, a district court heard yesterday.

The 41-year-old, who cannot be named, is the first to be prosecuted for causing a minor to have sex with another person, an offence which carries up to 10 years' jail and/or a fine.

The Singapore permanent resident from India, who has quit his job, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on March 10 with two other charges to be considered.

In late October 2012, the minor, then 15, became acquainted with the accused, a photography enthusiast, who had posted an online advertisement looking for an "extra man" to satisfy what he claimed was his girlfriend's fantasies.

The Chinese national responded and the two chatted online. The minor sent the accused a photograph as requested, and told him he was 18.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy said the accused met the minor and the part-time model some time in late October or early November that year at the Conrad Centennial Hotel for the photo shoot.

In the room, the model told the minor she was a second-year polytechnic student who had dropped out of school. The minor claimed he was a first-year polytechnic student.

The accused set up his camera equipment and had the teen pose with the model while he took pictures.

She was asked to undress the boy, who felt uncomfortable, but did not express it as the accused had assured him the photographs were meant only for his personal use.

The accused then asked the duo to engage in sexual activity, in which he joined at one stage. Before they left, the model asked to be paid and he gave her $250.

The boy made a police report on Jan 9 last year, a day after his photographs were seen by a friend on the Internet. "Police have been unable to ascertain how the photographs came to be publicised on the Internet," said DPP Kavita.

Pressing for a deterrent custodial sentence, she said the boy was only 15 when he was recruited to take part in the accused's twisted sexual fantasies. The accused, she said, did nothing to ascertain his age, and instead took advantage of his obvious naivety by making him do lewd acts.

As the crime involved the moral corruption of a minor, DPP Kavita said the sentence meted out should not only punish the accused, but should deter would-be offenders from engaging in such conduct.

Defence counsel Vinit Chhabra said in his mitigation that his client never expected someone below 18 to respond to his advertisement.

"It is an extremely heavy price for him to pay for a hobby gone wrong," he said. The lawyer claimed his client was in no way responsible for the photos making their way to the Internet.

He said the advertisement stated clearlywhat responders should expect.

"My client didn't venture into kids' world to purposely and intentionally take advantage of a young person," he told District Judge Victor Yeo.


This article was first published on February 27, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.