Ex-police NSF jailed two years for sex crimes against minors, taking upskirt photos
SINGAPORE —A man who committed sexual crimes against five female minors was on Tuesday (13 August) jailed for two years.
A R Arun Prashanth, who was 22, would befriend his victims who were aged 12 to 15, and pester some of them for obscene images and to meet up for sex.
The then full-time national serviceman with the Singapore Police Force also took 720 upskirt photos of women between 2016 and 2017.
Arun, who is now 25 and unemployed, had earlier pleaded guilty to seven charges - three of which are for procuring an indecent act from a child aged 12, committing an indecent act on a minor aged 14, and sexual penetration of the same victim.
The remaining four counts are for insulting the modesty of an unknown woman by taking upskirt photos of her.
A total of 21 other charges of a similar nature were considered in sentencing.
Pestered teen victim to meet up
Arun met one of his victims who was aged 14 after she was added into a WhatsApp group chat titled “Making New Friends” in September 2016. He began messaging her separately the following month.
But she blocked him as he was pestering her to meet up. However, Arun continued to message the girl on her Instagram account.
On 3 February 2017, she texted him to say that she was skipping her co-curricular activities. Arun invited her to his home and booked a private hire car for her. The girl agreed to visit his home.
After she arrived and removed her shoes, Arun placed them in a shoe bag in his bedroom in order not to alert anyone else in the house to her presence.
Arun then led her to his bedroom and placed her on the lower bunk of his double deck bed. He told her to hide under the bed if someone were to return home.
As Arun lay beside the girl, he kissed her. She pushed him away, but he persisted.
He then molested her while attempting to remove her dress. He also sexually penetrated her with his fingers.
After a while, Arun left the bedroom, prompting the girl to get dressed and send messages for help to a friend.
She left the room and told Arun that her mother had discovered her playing truant. He arranged for a private-hire car to pick her up and hugged her.
When the girl boarded the car, the driver noticed that she was trembling. After the victim spoke about what happened, the driver sent her to a neighbourhood police centre to make a report.
Meanwhile, Arun told the girl via WhatsApp to delete all their chat records and visit him again soon.
Arun was arrested on 4 February 2017. His chat records with the victim were retrieved from his phone, which was also found to contain 720 upskirt photos.
Asked 12-year-old girl for sex
Between February and March 2016, Arun texted his youngest victim, a 12-year-old girl, via Instagram. He was aware of her age.
After they exchange phone numbers, Arun began sending her lewd messages several times a day.
He also badgered her for nude photos and pressed her to meet him at his house or hotels for “cuddles” or sex.
On 8 May 2016, the girl relented to Arun’s request for “sexy photographs” and sent him a photo of herself in her brassiere. She later regretted doing so.
Separately, Arun exposed his penis to a 15-year-old girl on their first meeting and asked her to stroke him. He also engaged in oral sex with the victim several times.
He also had sex with a separate teen victim. And he sent obscene photos of himself to another victim he got to know on dating app Tinder.
The maximum penalty for sexually assaulting a minor is up to 10 years’ jail along with a fine.
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