Former teacher on trial for sexual grooming and indecent acts with student

After dismissing the team on Nov 28, 2022, the accused left the school with the complainant to purchase some materials. He booked a GetGo car and drove them to a McDonald’s outlet where they bought takeaway before heading to a multi-storey car park.

They ate there and later went to buy the required materials before going to another car park. The teacher spent about one hour and 40 minutes with the teenager in the car, said the prosecution.

THE COMPLAINANT’S TESTIMONY

The girl testified at trial that she sat on the teacher’s lap in the back seat while he hugged her and kissed her cheeks and forehead. In return, she kissed his cheeks.

At one point, she said the man kissed the side of her lip, which prompted her to confront him. She said he replied that he “can’t help it” because her lips were beside her cheeks. On that same occasion, the teacher is accused of stroking the teenager’s thigh.

The teacher allegedly told the girl several times not to tell anyone what happened that day, lest his actions were perceived as grooming. The girl complied.

They met again at an alley behind the school hall in January 2023, where they hugged each other and the teacher purportedly kissed her forehead. They told each other “I love you” and “I miss you”, the prosecution said.

On another occasion, he allegedly used his staff pass to tap them both into a laboratory where they talked for about two hours. He patted her head, touched her hand and hugged her, the girl claimed.

She said she complied with the accused’s demand for her to sit on his lap in a meeting room, saying he told her about his sex life with his wife and stroked her stomach.

In mid-2023, the teacher purportedly told the teen that they could not “be close” anymore and allegedly began to treat her poorly, calling her “mentally ill” and demanding, and avoiding her.

The teen testified that she initially felt “devastated” and her grades began plummeting, but she began to realise that she may have been sexually groomed.

This was after listening to her schoolmates talk about the teacher touching girls on their heads, his bias towards female students and his favouritism towards another student.

The complainant reached out to this other student. After confirming that the teacher was allegedly making advances on her, the complainant suggested reporting him to the principal.

The second student testified that the complainant had told her about the teacher stroking her thighs, kissing her cheeks and touching her stomach.

The prosecution said the complainant “never wavered” despite being challenged in cross-examination. She described how the accused would hold her hand during maths consultations, how he sent her birthday cards and hugged her.

“SYSTEMATIC EXPLOITATION”: PROSECUTION

The prosecution said the messages show that the accused “systematically exploited” his knowledge that the complainant was a young girl struggling with a myriad of issues, such as mental health, body image and confidence.

Instead of channelling her to trained female school counsellors, the man “chose to foster dependence and affection”, referring to the teen as his “daughter” 94 times.

He also introduced intimate undertones by telling her about a dream he had where he was holding her hand, telling her that she was more important to him than even his wife and family. He also told the teen confidential information – such as her making it to the express stream before the results were released.

He also maintained “an obsessive and relentless line of communication”, speaking with the teenager morning, noon and night every day of the week, said prosecutors.

In text messages from Nov 1, 2022, the teacher asked the girl if she liked it when he hugged her, and said “you also kiss me so much today”, saying he liked both the kisses and the hugs.

“Can I be greedy and want both?” he said, in response to the teen asking him to “choose one”.

The prosecution said there was no evidence suggesting the complainant had any motive to falsely incriminate the accused. Instead, she was reluctant to come forward, saying she was traumatised by the incidents and feared the accused and attending school because of his presence there.

The emotional toll of recounting her ordeal was so overwhelming that she broke down in tears and began hyperventilating during her testimony, said the prosecution.

They charged that the man’s defence is “a patchwork of lies put together in desperation”. For example, when confronted with his own messages, he gave “a series of absurd afterthoughts and obvious lies” such as saying that the hugs were merely “verbal”. The prosecution said this was “an affront to common sense”.

The complainant had testified about how the man told her he had not had sex with his wife in two years, adding that he had told her that he would date her in the future and make her his wife.

The prosecution said these “deeply personal and wholly inappropriate disclosures” provide crucial insight into his state of mind and motivation.

“The accused was a man dissatisfied with his marriage – who sought to satisfy his emotional and sexual needs by grooming a vulnerable child that he found attractive,” said the prosecutors.

They said the man had admitted to calling the teen “pretty”, “gorgeous” or other variations of this on at least 26 occasions. He also admitted that this meant that the complainant was physically attractive to him.

The judge adjourned the case to April, when she will deliver her verdict.

If convicted of committing an indecent act with a minor, the man could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both per charge.

If found guilty of sexual grooming of a minor, he could be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.

CNA has contacted the Ministry of Education for more information.