Wanting to satisfy his sexual desires, a former student care teacher in Singapore sent inappropriate messages to two children from the primary school he was based at.

He texted a picture of his genitals to a 13-year-old girl he was sexually aroused by, and also asked an 11-year-old boy what his private parts looked like out of "curiosity".

Tristan Teo Hong Xian, now 32, was sentenced to seven weeks' jail on Thursday (Jun. 13).

The court heard that Teo has a bachelor's degree in psychology, and was working in a primary school in Singapore from April 2018 to February 2020.

As a student care teacher, he would supervise, tutor and conduct activities with classes of primary school students after school, before their parents came to pick them up.

Asked boy what his private parts looked like

Teo's first victim was a boy from the school.

The boy was not from his class but Teo got acquainted with him during the course of his work.

In December 2019, the victim added Teo on Instagram after seeing a picture of him on holiday in Japan, and recognising him as a student care teacher from the school.

The two then started communicating via Instagram messages.

In August 2020, however, the conversation got sexual when Teo asked the then-11-year-old victim about what his private part looked like, saying that he was "curious" about it.

Teo later admitted to police that he was "trying to hold back his sexual desires" but "gave in to the temptation".

Texted girl with pic of his own genitals

In August 2021, Teo contacted his second victim, a girl, and started texting her over Instagram and WhatsApp.

She was a friend of the first victim and had studied in the same school.

Sometime between August and December 2021, he asked her to trade intimate pictures of their private parts.

When the girl declined to share a photo but consented to seeing his, Teo sent over a picture of his genitals.

The second victim was 13 at the time and Teo admitted that he did it as he was "sexually aroused" by her.

Tried to send her a second pic as he was horny

The two stopped talking for a while but Teo struck up the conversation in June 2022 as he was again feeling sexually aroused.

He offered to send over a similar picture but the victim, remembering that he had spoken to her about his "horny problems" in 2021, refused.

Instead she told him, "But you gotta control" and “Stop letting your desires control you.”

She then blocked him on Jun. 13, 2022.

Later that month, the victim made a second account on Instagram, and posing as a minor, texted Teo to gather evidence on him.

Despite believing that the other party was under 16, Teo continued to engage in sexual chats with her.

Teo's offences against the two children were reported to the police on Jun. 22, 2022.

He later pleaded guilty and cooperated with authorities in their investigation.

Duty to protect young victims from sexual exploitation: Prosecution

The prosecution asked for a deterrent sentence of between eight and 10 weeks' jail for Teo, arguing that the victims were "especially vulnerable given [their] young age" and that Teo's targeting of multiple victims showed "some element of planning and premeditation".

The prosecution also opined that the "perceived willingness" of the female victim to continue conversing with Teo or accept photos from him "should not carry mitigating weight".

"This would undermine the intent of Parliament to protect vulnerable and immature victims by penalising such sexual exploitation," the prosecutor said.

Accused has autism, treated victims as "friends": Defence

Teo's defence lawyer pleaded for leniency, pointing out that he was diagnosed with autism following the offences, Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reported.

"Because of his psychological condition, he could not grasp the boundaries of social interaction, so he could not make friends with people of the same age," the defence said.

The defence also asserted that in Teo's mind, the two victims were his friends, and he was "unable to judge the appropriateness of the content in the conversation".

Additionally, the lawyer pleaded for Teo not to be sent to jail, saying that it would be "difficult to stay there" as he was autistic and "could not understand adults".

Prior to sentencing, the judge called for a suitability report for a mandatory treatment order (MTO) to assess if Teo's psychiatric condition had contributed to the offences.

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