Former drama teacher jailed for sex with a 14-year-old student

A former drama teacher, who took advantage of a student aged 14 in 2011 and had sex with her, was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday. District Judge Siva Shanmugam said that Aravind S. Menon "had abused the trust reposed in him as a teacher". The judge also noted the seven year gap between him and the girl and called his act of filming one of the trysts "deplorable".

Menon, 25, pleaded guilty on April 11 to having sex with a partner under the age of 16. The court heard then that he was working twice a week voluntarily for the school, when the girl joined the drama society in March 2008. Neither the girl nor the school can be named for legal reasons.

The girl started confiding in Menon, then aged 20, about her problems at home and in school. They grew close and had sex on three occasions at his home in Choa Chu Kang in May and July 2009. He also filmed one of their trysts on his cellphone and downloaded it to his computer.

In end-July, her parents read his messages on her cellphone and told her to break up with him. Her father also informed the school of his suspicions and Menon was sacked. In August 2009, she sent a text message to him saying that she wanted to end the relationship. He replied and threatened to harm her family. Menon, who is single, is now a freelance writer.

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