39-year-old jailed for sex with underage girl

Sachin Pravin Dere was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to three of five counts of sex with a girl aged below 16. PHOTO: ST GRAPHICS

An information technology professional befriended a 14-year-old girl on Facebook and lured her to his home while his wife was away on the pretext of letting her play with his dogs.

The 39-year-old Indian national had unprotected sex with her that day, and had sex with her again a week later.

Yesterday, Sachin Pravin Dere was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to three of five counts of sex with a girl aged below 16.

Dere, who came to Singapore to work in 2011, used a photograph of himself with a dog as his profile picture. He sent the secondary school student a friend request on Oct 14 last year.

While exchanging private messages, he invited her to his condominium in Flora Drive in Changi to play with his dogs the next day.

After they had played with the dogs for a while, he sat with the girl on the sofa, put his arm over her back and began to kiss her.

He later took her to his bedroom where they continued kissing each other. He asked how old she was as he felt that she looked very young. She told him she was 16.

He also asked if she had had sex before and she said she had not.

After sex, he asked her to follow him to the bathroom where he sexually abused her before she said she wanted to stop.

On Oct 22, he invited her to his place and abused her again.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Delicia Tan said Dere knew that the victim was a virgin, yet that did not stop him from exploiting her for his sexual gratification.

Dere, who was represented by Mr Amarjit Singh Sidhu, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined on each charge.

Elena Chong

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 01, 2015, with the headline 39-year-old jailed for sex with underage girl. Subscribe