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After discovering that he was a paedophile, a man in Singapore molested and raped his own biological daughter over the course of more than seven years, starting from when she was only three years old.

On Friday (Mar. 26), the 44-year-old man pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory rape. Another 19 charges, including three charges of aggravated sexual assault by penetration and five charges of showing obscene material to a young person, will also be taken into account.

Began sexually assaulting daughter when she was 3 years old

The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his daughter's identity, is European and is a permanent resident in Singapore, reported Yahoo.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man and his then-wife — who has since divorced him — were married overseas, where their daughter was born in 2008. They subsequently moved to Singapore.

At the time of his arrest in 2019, the man was living in a condominium in Singapore with his wife, daughter, and baby son.

When the man's daughter was between the ages of three and seven, she became afraid of showering alone because she saw people drown while swimming when she was watching TV.

This led to the man showering with her. In the course of doing so, he "developed a sexual desire" for his daughter, and sexually exploited her.

He says that this was when he realised that he was a paedophile, and that there was "no turning back". He began to molest his daughter, and forced her to commit sexual acts on him.

Frequency & severity of offences increased

After they moved to another condo, the frequency of the man's sexual acts against his daughter increased.

He would commit these offences when his wife, the victim's mother, was away at work, out of the country, or otherwise not home.

The severity of the sexual acts he committed against his daughter also increased, performing oral sex on her and attempting to penetrate her with his penis.

The first time he tried to do the latter, she told him not to do so, and he stopped.

Subsequently, however, when she told him "no" or that she "didn't want to", the man would tell his daughter to try for a few minutes.

This led to him raping her. He would also show her pornography — some of which was of adults, and others which were child pornography — before sexually assaulting her.

On at least three occasions between February 2018 and July 2019, the man raped his daughter when he was at home with her, his infant son, and the family's domestic worker. The man's wife was not home.

In one instance, which happened sometime between April and May 2019, the girl was in her bedroom reading a book when her father came in and locked the door.

He showed her pornographic videos on his phone and molested her.

The man then proceeded to rape his daughter, even though she told him, "I don't want to." He replied, "Just for a few minutes."

Did not feel that she could protest more or tell anyone

The man sexually abused his daughter over a period of up to seven-and-a-half years, from Dec. 2011 to Jun. 2019

He estimates that he raped her more than 10, but less than 20, times in total, and that he forced her to perform oral sex on him more times than he raped her.

The man was aware that his daughter was not a willing party in these incidents, as he would see her turn her face to the side when he was on top of her, in order to avoid looking at him.

The girl, who is now 13 years old, felt that she could not protest any more than she already had, as the man was her father and she felt that she had to give in to him.

The girl did not tell anyone about the sexual assaults, because she was scared and didn't want her mother to divorce her father, causing the family to break up.

Sexually assaulted daughter's best friend

In addition to his own daughter, the man also sexually assaulted his daughter's best friend, who resided in the same condo. The man's daughter and her best friend would go over to each others' homes to play.

The best friend's parents regarded the man and his wife as close friends.

The sexual assaults occurred when the best friend came over to the victim's house to play and watch movies.

Initially, the man kissed the girl on her lips while his daughter was somewhere else in the house. He told the girl to keep it a "secret".

The situation escalated to the man assaulting his daughter and the best friend together. On one occasion, he lay between the two girls while the three of them were watching a movie in the master bedroom.

He then used one hand to molest his daughter, while he used the other to molest his daughter's best friend. He also kissed both girls on their lips.

The best friend eventually stopped going over to their house again, in order to avoid the man.

Discovered after daughter's best friend revealed his crimes

The man's actions were only exposed when, around mid-June 2019, his daughter's best friend was overseas preparing to undergo her first communion.

When she was asked to confess her sins, she revealed what the man had done to her in 2017. Her parents brought her to make a police report when she returned to Singapore.

On Jul. 1, 2019, the police went to the man's home to investigate the best friend's report, and found the daughter alone at home.

After speaking with her, they discovered that the man had sexually assaulted her. They arrested the man later that evening.

In the course of investigations, police found "objectionable and obscene content" on several of his devices, including a significant portion that involved young and prepubescent girls.

On the Twitter app on his phone, they also found that he had saved images and links that contained material pertaining to "Brazilian nudes", "incest love", "lewd posts", and nude images of young females.

His ex-wife also informed investigators that, settling the man's affairs after he was arrested, she discovered three stories involving child erotica in his email inbox, which he had downloaded and sent to himself.

According to a psychiatric report from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in 2019, the man has paedophilic disorder, a form of abnormal sexual preference where he has recurrent sexual urges or behaviours involving sexual activities with a prepubescent child or children.

He also was found to have a period of "distress" due to work stress between January 2018 to June 2018.

However, IMH found that his disorder had "no substantive contributory link" to his criminal responsibility his offences, as neither his cognitive functioning nor his volitional and emotional capability to break the law in order to act on his sexual desires were significantly impaired.

Sentencing

The prosecution asked for at least 30 years' imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane for the man.

According to CNA, the man's defence lawyer, Amarjit Singh, argued that 30 years' imprisonment would be "too crushing a sentence".

Instead, he asked for between 24 and 26 years, adding that the man's wife has since divorced him, and that he has left everything to her.

The man "has robbed [his daughter] of her childhood and innocence," Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Yvonne Poon and Lim Ying Min said.

He was aware that his role as the girl's father would influence her responses to his behaviour, and would exert that influence to get his way with her, they stated.

This is why she tolerated the years of abuse, even though she knew that what her father did was wrong and that she disliked it. "She obeyed him each time he wheedled her into compliance," the prosecution said.

In fact, the DPPs added, even now, the man's daughter continues to write him letters while he is in remand, telling him that she loves and misses him.

The man also carried out the offences against his daughter in the "sanctity of the family abode", the DPPs stated. Thus, every home that the girl lived in in Singapore was the "site of some odious sexual activity" with her father.

"She was not safe from him even in her own bedroom."

The prosecution also added that instead of seeking help for his paedophilia, the man used it as a justification of "no turning back", and made no attempt to address his condition or restrain himself from offending.

The man will be sentenced on Apr. 19, reported Yahoo.

Top photo adapted from stock image by Caleb Woods on Unsplash.