Youth guilty of having sex with three minors

A teenager had sex with an underage schoolmate who saw him as her best friend, then dropped out of school and targeted another minor.

The youth, who became a dishwasher, then consumed methamphetamine, or Ice, and was out on bail for drug consumption when he had sex with a third underage girl.

The 18-year-old youth was sentenced to a year's reformative training yesterday. He will be sent to a reformative training centre to follow a strict regimen that includes foot drills and counselling.

He pleaded guilty in court on Feb 20 to drug consumption and three counts of having sexual intercourse with the girls. Eight other charges were considered in sentencing.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girls' identities.

His first victim was the schoolmate whom he got to know in January 2015 when she was just 13. In early 2016, he started to pester her to have sex with him, but she rejected his advances.

On May 20 that year, he went to her home after school, and they had sex in her bedroom. He dropped out of school soon after and they broke off contact. The girl lodged a police report in February 2017.

The offender met the second girl, who was 15, on Facebook, and they had sex at his home in February 2017. Her mother found out and alerted the police. Court documents did not state what happened after the police reports were made.

On Oct 31, 2017, Central Narcotics Bureau officers arrested the youth for suspected drug consumption. He was charged on Feb 22 last year and was out on bail when he targeted the third girl, who was 13.

The pair started a relationship and had sex four times last July.

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On July 8, the girl had a row with her mother, who allegedly knocked her daughter's head against a wall.

The girl was taken to hospital and told a nurse about her sexual encounters. The police were notified.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 29, 2019, with the headline Youth guilty of having sex with three minors. Subscribe