THEY have been exposed, jailed and shamed. Yet sexual predators continue to prowl for young girls - despite tough new laws.
They post ads on popular websites offering cash for everything from used underwear to sex. The younger the victim, the better.
One ad appealed for girls as young as 12 years old to sell their used underwear. If the girls take it off in front of the buyer, they get more money.
But the problem is compounded by young people who put themselves up for sale. Boys offering themselves to men and women, and girls looking for a sugar daddy.
There are also teens who put their underwear up for sale.
The end result: The predators become bolder.
Take this man who introduced himself only as Simon. Lonely, in his late 30s and single, Simon posted an ad on a local classifieds website.
He wanted schoolgirls for "heavy petting" and offered cash for their services.
Posing at first as a 17-year-old girl, this reporter responded to his ad and asked how much he was willing to pay.
Prompt reply
He replied on the same day.
He said he wanted to know more about the girl and the "price very much depended" on her "age" and "looks".
But he also added: "Feel free to quote me a price."
The next day, he asked for a picture, insisting he would keep it for himself.
He said: "In this business, I know very well that discretion is very important, why would I want to ruin my own chances of a relationship with you by saboing (sic) you? Makes no sense."
In his response, he also included his mobile phone number.
With each text message, the demands became more specific. He expected "kissing" and "touching" and asked whether she was "willing to strip".
He used money as bait. "Do more, pay more," he said. When I said I needed $400, he told me to "really decide" on what I would do for that amount.
It didn't bother him when I said I lied about my age, that I'm not 17, but 15.
He insisted on meeting.
We arranged to meet at a park in Toa Payoh on April21. The plan was for a colleague to meet him, while The New Paper team monitored his moves from a distance.
He became apprehensive, expressing discomfort in "meeting in too open an area" and had concerns "for (his) own safety".
At 6pm, he turned up but was careful not to approach my colleague immediately. Like a vulture eyeing its prey, he circled the perimeter of the park and stared at her from afar for a good 10 minutes.
When the girl sent a text message to say she was leaving, he moved in.
The first question he asked her was: "Have you thought about what you want to do already?"
She asked him in return: "Have you done this before?"
He then told her that it was not his first time and that he resorted to this because he could not meet women otherwise.
That was when the rest of The New Paper team moved in.
Immediately his tune changed. He claimed he "was just curious" and he also denied having any interest in having sex with the girl.
Simon said he knew that engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor would be an offence.
But the law on sexual grooming is clear. If a conversation takes on a suggestive nature and if there's a meeting or communication with a minor "on at least two prior occasions", it could amount to sexual grooming.
He looked surprised when we told him that.
He claimed he had never contacted a minor for sexual services.
'Desperate'
Simon said he usually engages prostitutes but he became "desperate". He said he did not have a girlfriend as it was hard for him to encounter women in his line of work.
He said matter-of-factly: "No woman wants me. All they want is money."
Schoolgirls, he added, would not "ask for too much".
Simon had posted another ad on the same website asking for "only female models" to photograph. He denied that he had any indecent intention.
The ad looking for schoolgirls has since been removed. But the one asking for models to e-mail him remains, although it now states: "Expired! Please do not contact".
Anyone meeting up with a minor under the age of 18 with the intention of having sex can be fined and jailed up to three years.
If the communication leads to sex, the offender can be jailed up to seven years or fined, or both.
