On Tuesday (28 Feb), a 49-year-old man pleaded guilty to showing pornography to his 17-year-old ex-student.
The man used to be a teacher at a top school. Upon hearing that his student was engaging in self-harm activities to cope with stress, the man suggested pornography as an outlet to de-stress.
He also shared videos containing sexual activity with the student.
Source: Yandex, for illustration purposes only
The accused will return to court on 28 Mar for his sentencing. If he’s found guilty, he could face up to one year of jail, a fine, or both.
According to The Straits Times (ST), the accused was the victim’s civics tutor when the offence took place.
On 28 Jan 2021, the student’s mother sent an email to the teacher regarding her concerns about her son.
She shared that the boy often dealt with negative thoughts and emotions.
Upon receiving the email, the teacher contacted the mother, informing her that her son was also falling behind in class.
As such, he decided to speak to the boy personally.
When he spoke to the student, the boy shared that he has resorted to self-harm to cope with stress.
The teacher then passed his phone number to the student. However, he told the student to save his contact under a different name.
His reasoning was that their conversation was “not exactly legit”.
The student trusted the teacher and even told his mother that he was thankful for having such a trustworthy adult to speak to.
On 2 Feb 2021, the teacher gave the student a self-help book and asked why he felt the need to self-harm.
The student shared that he needed a coping mechanism.
This was when the teacher allegedly told him that “males of this age have only two ways to de-stress: medication and (stimulating oneself)”.
The teacher even asked if the student had ever watched pornography and introduced him to pornographic websites.
On 6 Feb 2021, the teacher invited the student to his house for dinner.
Before they started eating, the teacher lamented about the heat and asked the student if he wanted to take off his shirt.
The student then changed into a singlet offered by the teacher, who watched him as he changed.
During dinner, the teacher kept pressuring the student to drink alcohol with him and talked about his own personal sexual experiences.
Soon after, the teacher became drunk and started crying.
He then placed his hands on the student’s arm and chest and moved them around for roughly 10 minutes.
The teacher also used his mobile phone to show the boy three pornographic videos.
The next day, the student informed his mother of what had happened.
His mother immediately alerted the school authorities and filed a police report.
The teacher resigned from his job in February 2021.
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon sought three months’ jail for the accused.
She pointed out that the teacher “cultivated his friendship with the victim, starting out innocuously enough before engaging in increasingly inappropriate conversations”.
On the other hand, the defence argued for two weeks’ jail instead, saying that it was his client’s first run-in with the law.
The former teacher will return to court on 28 Mar for sentencing. If convicted, he could potentially face a jail term of up to one year, a fine, or both.
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Featured image adapted from Yandex, for illustration purposes only.
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