Former Wah!Banana actor gets 11 years & 6 months' jail for raping woman he met on Tinder

An online personality formerly from YouTube channel Wah!Banana has been sentenced to 11 years and six months in jail, as well as 12 strokes of the cane on May 19 for raping, sexually assaulting and molesting a woman.

Lev Panfilov, 29, met the victim on dating app Tinder and committed the offences in his flat on Jan. 12, 2021.

The woman, then-30, was aspiring to get into comedy writing and had met him to seek advice on a script as he had mentioned in his profile that he was a scriptwriter.

The trial first began in May 2023, with the victim and Panfilov presenting different accounts of the night.

He was eventually convicted by the High Court on Mar. 21, according to The Straits Times.

Prolonged the victim's agony

Court documents seen by Mothership said prosecutors sought a global sentence of at least 14 years' imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane.

They highlighted the gravity of the offences committed against the victim and Panfilov's conduct at trial, which showed a lack of remorse.

They argued that Panfilov had "prolonged the victim's agony" and subjected her to "meandering and repetitive cross-examination".

In her victim impact statement, the victim described how the "prolonged and insensitive cross-examination made an already arduous process even more gruelling".

Panfilov had also tried to leave Singapore midway through trial, without any permission being granted by the court.

He had applied for and obtained a new Russian passport without the knowledge of the investigation officer.

On Dec. 9, 2023, while out on bail, he was stopped at the entrance to the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 1 attempting to board his flight.

He was consequently arrested and remanded.

Victim voluntarily met Panfilov: Defence

Panfilov's lawyers had asked for 10 years and five months in jail and six strokes of the cane, reported CNA and ST.

They argued that Panfilov was a first-time offender, with intentions to get married later this year and pursue his education in prison.

His lawyer also said there was no "pre-meditation" on Panfilov's part and said the woman had "voluntarily" met him and ended up on his bed "of her own volition".

While Panfilov did not deny that he had sex with the woman, he had claimed that it was consensual and that the woman had made the first move by laughing and tapping his legs.

The judge eventually found the victim an "unusually convincing" witness, while Panfilov was found to not be a "credible witness".

He will be appealing against his conviction and sentence.

Background on case

Panfilov was 24 years old when he met the woman on the mobile dating application Tinder.

The woman, 30 years old then, was using the application to meet new people and broaden her social circle.

She came across Panfilov's profile and decided to match with him.

She was trying to write a script and thought that she could obtain advice and feedback from Panfilov as he had mentioned in his profile that he was a scriptwriter.

Met up in real life on Jan. 12, 2021

The pair arranged to meet after chatting on the application, as well as on the messaging platform WhatsApp.

They met on the night of Jan. 12, 2021 at Wine Connection at Robertson Quay, where they had a meal and discussed the woman's script.

When the restaurant was closing at around 10pm, Panfilov suggested to the woman that they go to his condominium unit to continue working on the script.

The woman agreed.

The pair watched YouTube videos of comedians, discussed comedic principles and worked on the woman's script in Panfilov's bedroom in the condominium unit.

He was sharing the condominium unit with roommates at that time, where he occupied one of the three bedrooms in the unit.

Showed his true colours

Sometime during the night, Panfilov suddenly leaned in to kiss the woman on her lips.

Despite the victim telling him "no", he sexually assaulted her and raped her on his bed.

Once "satiated", Panfilov told the woman she could leave and booked her a private hire vehicle to her house after the assault.

On Jan. 16, 2021, the woman went to a police station and spoke to some officers, but left without lodging a report as she was afraid police would not believe her.

The woman made a police report against Panfilov on Jan. 18, 2021, after her mother caught her crying in her room.

Her mother also brought her to KK Women's and Children's Hospital on the same day as she was experiencing pain in her lower abdominal region.

Ex-Wah!Banana staff

Panfilov, who is originally from Russia, has become a Singapore permanent resident.

He is known for appearing on homegrown YouTube channel Wah!Banana.

Based on his LinkedIn, he was a creative specialist for the channel from May 2020 to May 2021.

He remains active on his own social media accounts, where he uploads skits, since his departure from Wah!Banana.

He is currently a consulting manager at a recruiting firm.

Panfilov is the second Wah!Banana staff to be accused of sexual misconduct, the first being YouTuber and local actor Eden Ang in 2018.

Top photo from levpanf/Instagram