Man jailed for sex with 14-year-old, taking upskirt videos
After meeting a teenager via a dating app, a 23-year-old man had sex with the 14-year-old girl on three occasions. The girl subsequently became pregnant and went for an abortion.
On Monday (5 March), Leon Yap, 23, was jailed 16 months after he pleaded guilty in the State Courts to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor under the age of 16 and three counts of insulting the modesty of women by taking upskirt videos.
The court heard that Yap began chatting with the girl in May 2017 via the OKCupid app. Yap and the girl had unprotected sex during their first meeting in May, and on two other occasions in May and June. The girl cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order.
The girl suspected she was pregnant after she missed her period and purchased a pregnancy test kit. The test came back positive and she informed Yap. She and Yap then agreed to split the cost of an abortion.
The girl’s parents discovered the pregnancy when they found the receipt for the pregnancy test kit in her wallet, and took her to make a police report.
The girl underwent an abortion in July 2017.
Investigated for upskirt videos
Yap had committed these offences while being investigated for three instances of taking upskirt videos of women at the Raffles Place, Bras Basah and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations sometime in September 2016. He had also sent an upskirt photo he took to a friend.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling asked for a total jail term for Yap of at least 15 months, saying that the victim was vulnerable and that the two had no prior relationship. Having unprotected sex also carried the risk of sexually-transmitted diseases and pregnancy, said DPP Chee. These were aggravating factors, she said. The victim also had to undergo the psychological trauma of an abortion, she added.
DPP Chee pointed out that there was a “high degree of exploitation and harm” and that Yap committed multiple offences while being investigated for taking upskirt videos.
Yap’s lawyer Terence Tan said Yap suffered from major depressive disorder. He also said it was the victim who initiated contact and that there was no coercion involved in the sexual acts.
The victim had also asked her father not to make a police report against Yap, said Tan. District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim responded that the victim said that because she was a child and did not know any better. She also said there was no causal link between Yap’s condition and the offences.
Asking for leniency, Tan said his client wished to further his studies and wanted to get his life back on track.
The judge sentenced Yap to 16 months’ jail citing the aggravating factors.
For sexual penetration of a minor, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined or both.
Related stories:
Pinhole camera discovered in handicapped toilet in NTU: report
Welfare officers to help police in dealing with offenders’ underlying social issues
