SINGAPORE — A teenager who sexually assaulted 10 minors over two-and-a-half years was exposed after a girl publicly called him a “rapist” on Twitter in 2020.
After seeing the girl’s Twitter thread, many of the victims reached out to her. They then gave the girl permission to share their accounts of being assaulted on the thread, which later gained momentum. The 17-year-old shut down her Twitter account before investigations began.
When the teen, now 18 and a student, was investigated, he was found to have committed 33 sexual offences against 10 girls, aged between 12 and 16, between July 2017 and February 2020. He was aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the offences.
He would get to know the girls through school, mutual friends, or social media, before asking them to visit him in secluded areas such as his flat or in the vicinity. He would then sexually assault them.
The teen pleaded guilty on Thursday (24 February) to four counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 16. Another 29 counts of a similar nature will be considered for his sentencing.
District Judge Kessler Soh called for a reformative training pre-sentencing report to assess the teen’s suitability for the sentence, which is a more serious punishment meted out to offenders under 21, as compared to probation.
Both the man and his victims cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the latter.
The teen befriended another victim, then 15, on Instagram in 2019. They began chatting daily and the teen invited her to his flat for a study session in August 2019. While the girl was reaching for her study materials, the teen hugged her from behind and began molesting her. He had sex with her without a condom.
This victim saw the Twitter thread in June 2020 and realised there were others who had been sexually assaulted. She decided to lodge a police report at the advice of her mother.
After the incident, this victim began hurting herself and attempted suicide by overdosing on her antidepressants. She was diagnosed with depression and post traumatic stress disorder and reported feeling ashamed of her body.
The teen befriended another victim, 14, also via Instagram and asked to tutor her in chemistry. The victim accepted and went to his flat. He then made sexual advances on the unwilling victim.
He sexually assaulted another victim he met through Instagram, at the staircase landing of a HDB block, even after promising her they would not be having sex that day. This victim, 13, was eventually referred to psychologists for counselling.
After seeing the thread, many victims reached out to this girl privately and shared their own accounts of sexual assault. These were later shared on the Twitter thread with the victims’ consent.
In total, four police reports were lodged against the boy, including one from a witness who was part of a WhatsApp chat group created for the purpose of bringing together his victims.
The prosecution and the teen’s lawyer both asked the court to order a reformative training suitability report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim asked that the teen not be considered a first-time offender due to the sheer number of offences he committed. Another aggravating factor was that his victims were all young and had been exposed to the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Some had also suffered psychological harm.
The teen’s lawyer Hashim Siraj argued that his client should be treated as a first-time offender as he had not been convicted in a court of law before. He conceded that his client’s addiction to porn at a very young age could have caused him to commit the offences.
The lawyer listed several mitigating factors, including how his client was still young, and did not have his mother with him during most of his childhood as she was incarcerated.
The teen will return to court on 3 March for sentencing matters
After seeing the girl’s Twitter thread, many of the victims reached out to her. They then gave the girl permission to share their accounts of being assaulted on the thread, which later gained momentum. The 17-year-old shut down her Twitter account before investigations began.
When the teen, now 18 and a student, was investigated, he was found to have committed 33 sexual offences against 10 girls, aged between 12 and 16, between July 2017 and February 2020. He was aged between 14 and 16 at the time of the offences.
He would get to know the girls through school, mutual friends, or social media, before asking them to visit him in secluded areas such as his flat or in the vicinity. He would then sexually assault them.
The teen pleaded guilty on Thursday (24 February) to four counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 16. Another 29 counts of a similar nature will be considered for his sentencing.
District Judge Kessler Soh called for a reformative training pre-sentencing report to assess the teen’s suitability for the sentence, which is a more serious punishment meted out to offenders under 21, as compared to probation.
Both the man and his victims cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the latter.
Got to know victim on Instagram
The teen got to know one victim, then aged 12, in 2017 after chatting with her on Instagram. She agreed to have sex with him as she thought this meant he recognised her as his girlfriend. The two began having intercourse, sometimes unprotected, once a month from June 2018 to January 2019.The teen befriended another victim, then 15, on Instagram in 2019. They began chatting daily and the teen invited her to his flat for a study session in August 2019. While the girl was reaching for her study materials, the teen hugged her from behind and began molesting her. He had sex with her without a condom.
This victim saw the Twitter thread in June 2020 and realised there were others who had been sexually assaulted. She decided to lodge a police report at the advice of her mother.
After the incident, this victim began hurting herself and attempted suicide by overdosing on her antidepressants. She was diagnosed with depression and post traumatic stress disorder and reported feeling ashamed of her body.
The teen befriended another victim, 14, also via Instagram and asked to tutor her in chemistry. The victim accepted and went to his flat. He then made sexual advances on the unwilling victim.
He sexually assaulted another victim he met through Instagram, at the staircase landing of a HDB block, even after promising her they would not be having sex that day. This victim, 13, was eventually referred to psychologists for counselling.
Exposed via Twitter thread
On 21 June 2020, a girl created a thread on Twitter by posting a photo of the teen with the caption, “A rapist requested to follow me on Instagram, should I expose what he did to me?”.After seeing the thread, many victims reached out to this girl privately and shared their own accounts of sexual assault. These were later shared on the Twitter thread with the victims’ consent.
In total, four police reports were lodged against the boy, including one from a witness who was part of a WhatsApp chat group created for the purpose of bringing together his victims.
The prosecution and the teen’s lawyer both asked the court to order a reformative training suitability report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim asked that the teen not be considered a first-time offender due to the sheer number of offences he committed. Another aggravating factor was that his victims were all young and had been exposed to the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Some had also suffered psychological harm.
The teen’s lawyer Hashim Siraj argued that his client should be treated as a first-time offender as he had not been convicted in a court of law before. He conceded that his client’s addiction to porn at a very young age could have caused him to commit the offences.
The lawyer listed several mitigating factors, including how his client was still young, and did not have his mother with him during most of his childhood as she was incarcerated.
The teen will return to court on 3 March for sentencing matters
