S'porean man, then 27, an ex-youth worker, had sex with underage ex-resident of home, gets 2.5 years' jail

A 31-year-old Singaporean former youth worker at a home was sentenced on Oct. 29 to two years and six months' jail after he took advantage of an underage former resident and had sex with her.

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that the man had initiated a relationship with the girl who had a crush on him.

The Straits Times reported that he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexually penetrating a minor, with five other charges taken into consideration during sentencing.

A gag order was imposed to protect the girl's identity.

Met at a home for victims of abuse

According to court documents, the girl, who was 15 at the time, was placed in the home due to family violence.

The pair became acquainted as the man worked there, though his duties did not formally involve her.

However, they got to interact with one another when the male and female residents would sometimes play games together, which included staff members.

Contact details

When the girl was eventually scheduled to be moved to another home in February 2022, she wrote farewell cards to various staff members, including the man, who was 27 at the time.

In her note to him, she included her mobile number and her Instagram account handle as a means of contacting her.

The girl then personally passed the farewell note to him as she had a crush on him.

Asked girl to be girlfriend

Court documents stated that in March 2022, a few weeks after the girl moved out of the home, the man contacted her via Telegram.

They began to chat regularly, although the man knew that he should not have contacted a resident or former resident in his personal capacity.

Sometime in April 2022, they decided to meet in person, where the man rented a car and used it to pick the girl up from her school in the afternoon.

He had a second job as a private-hire vehicle driver.

The man then drove the girl to a car park near the new home she was residing in, where they talked and held hands.

He also asked her to be his girlfriend that day and she agreed.

Met more often

The pair then began to meet more often, where the man would pick her up from school.

On some occasions, when they spent time together in private, the man kissed the girl and touched her, sometimes making skin-on-skin contact.

In May 2022, the pair were in the man's car when he asked the girl to perform a sexual act on him.

Court documents stated that she "did not really want to do so but she agreed after he persuaded her to do so because she felt that she loved him".

On May 25, 2022, the man invited the girl to his house and had sex with her.

Arrested

His actions eventually came to light as a staff member at the girl's home had noticed her wearing an army administrative t-shirt.

She eventually admitted to a staff member that she was in a relationship with the man who was a staff member at the girl's previous home.

The man then resigned from his role soon after upon learning of the allegations.

Court documents stated that he was arrested on Jun. 22, 2026, and released on bail on Jun. 23, 2026, after he was produced in court.

Aggravating factors, sentencing

In seeking a sentence of 30 to 36 months' jail, the prosecution argued that the man took advantage of the girl's crush on him.

He chose to enter into a romantic relationship with her despite being 12 years older than her, and pressured her into various sexual acts.

Court documents stated that he did so despite knowing he was not supposed to contact former residents of the home he was working at, much less date them.

The prosecution also highlighted aggravating factors that warranted an uplift from the sentencing benchmarks.

While the man did not abuse a position of trust in the context of the offending conduct, he got to know the girl in a situation where he was placed in a position of trust and authority.

The man also initiated the romantic relationship with the girl even though he ought to have known better, and pressured the victim into sexual acts until she complied.

The third factor was the duration of offending and the taken into consideration charges.

He faced five other such charges in relation to the girl.

He was in a romantic relationship with her for around two months, where they engaged in sexual acts and kissing.

The prosecution said it sought a sentence of around 43 to 52 months' jail if the man had claimed trial, noting that such a sentence appropriately reflects the man's overall culpability and is not crushing.