A 34-year-old male teacher started an illicit relationship in 2017 with his then-15-year-old female student that involved acts of a sexual nature

The man and the school cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the identity of the victim.

On Jan. 23, 2020, the accused was sentenced to one year and five months' jail for three charges of indecent acts with a young person, CNA reported.

Four other charges were also taken into consideration.

Believed victim had a crush on him, began flirting with her on Instagram

According to court documents, the accused entered the victim's secondary school in 2016 and became the victim's teacher in January 2017.

The accused's name cannot be mentioned in order to protect the identity of the victim.

Their interactions started out innocuously enough.

Sometime in January 2017, the victim followed the accused on Instagram.

On May 30, the accused messaged the victim to congratulate her on a good 2.4km run.

On July 27 and Aug. 2, the accused message the victim once again to check on her thumb after she had injured it.

On Aug. 31, the victim wished the accused "Happy Teacher's Day".

Believing that the victim had a crush on him, he began flirting with her on Instagram towards the end of August 2017.

He asked her when she was going to get a boyfriend to take care of her, and expressed that he thought of her almost every day.

The accused also suggested that the victim gift him a whistle for teacher's day so that he could "blow" it and make the victim sit in front of him.

Following that conversation, the accused and the victim began to message each other on Instagram frequently.

On Sept. 8, the accused asked the victim if she needed a "study buddy" as he required a "marking buddy".

The victim admitted that she needed one.

Asked victim out for lunch and proceeded to kiss, hug and touch her

On Sept. 10, 2017, the accused asked the victim out for lunch.

During one of their conversations leading up to their date on Sept. 10, the accused told the victim that he had a dream of sending her home and giving her a forehead kiss.

The victim expressed that the age gap and student-teacher relationship she shared with the accused was inappropriate.

However, the accused assured the victim that they would "keep a low profile" until she graduated.

On Sept. 10, the accused and the victim arranged to meet for lunch after her tuition class.

After the meal, the accused brought the victim to a void deck where he suddenly hugged the victim and kissed her cheeks, lips and tongue as there was no one else present.

Thereafter, the accused brought the victim to a bench where he hugged the victim and kissed her cheeks and lips.

He also laid his hands on her chest area over her clothing while hugging her.

This continued for about two to three hours before the accused sent the victim home.

Asked victim to be his girlfriend

The next day, the accused asked the victim if she was willing to be his girlfriend, to which the victim agreed.

However, she requested for the accused not to do anything she was uncomfortable with.

According to court documents, the accused tried to pressure the victim into promising to have sexual intercourse with him when she turned 17 or 18 years old.

The accused and the victim continued messaging each other frequently on WhatsApp and their conversations often lasted late into the night.

On Sept. 15, 2017, the accused tried to pressure the victim into having sex with him and agreeing to marry him.

In the course of their conversation, the victim revealed that she had disclosed their relationship to her friend.

The accused was very angry with the victim and demanded to meet the victim in person.

The victim was afraid that the accused would be physically violent but reluctantly agreed.

When they met, the accused touched the victim's breasts over her clothing and squeezed her buttocks at the entrance of a staircase.

He also kissed her.

Accused proposed "friends with benefits" arrangement

The accused frequently initiated conversations of a sexual nature despite the victim's discomfort and attempts to change the subject.

On Sept. 17, the accused asked the victim to meet him at a void deck while he marked his students' papers, to which the victim agreed.

When they met, the accused hugged and kissed the victim as she sat on his lap.

On Sept. 19, at about 8:03pm, the accused sparked an argument with the victim when he sent her a message on WhatsApp stating, "Do u know that u make me hard each time u meet me?"

Towards the end of their relationship, the accused continued to pressure the victim to be physically intimate with him and to meet him so that he could kiss and lick her.

When the victim did not accede to his requests, he would scold her and be verbally abusive.

The accused even told the victim that she deserved to be raped when she did not want to go out with him.

On Oct. 14, 2017, the victim broke up with the accused as she felt guilty for being in a relationship with a teacher.

Thereafter, the accused persisted in messaging the victim on Instagram and proposing a "friends with benefits" arrangement, to which the victim agreed.

Victim's mother lodges police report

On Nov. 11, 2017 at around 11:20pm, the victim's mother brought the victim to Bedok North Neighbourhood Police Centre to lodge a police report.

This happened after she had checked the victim's cell phone and found the text messages the accused and her daughter had exchanged.

On Nov. 19, 2017, the accused was suspended from his teaching duties and subjected to internal disciplinary action from the Ministry of Education (MOE).

For each charge of committing an obscene act with a child or young person, the accused could have been jailed for up to five years, fined a maximum of S$10,000 or both.

In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the accused could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined a maximum of S$20,000 or both.

Top image for illustrative purposes, via sean Kong on Unsplash