A 55-year-old man was sentenced to 65 months and four weeks' jail on Thursday, April 3, for using criminal force and sexually assaulting his intellectually disabled daughter. According to the law, the man was sentenced for his crime leading to outrage of modesty, and for outrage of modesty against a victim under 14.
Reportedly, the girl was only 11 years old when her father, whom she shared a room with, started sexually abusing her. This went on for three years, and ended only when she told her foster parents, who alerted the authorities.
When determining his punishment, two more offenses were considered.
Since he is above the age of 50, the man cannot be caned. Additionally, he cannot be identified because his daughter's identity was protected by a gag order.
According to what the court heard, the girl had seen her father hit her mother before and was scared to oppose his advances.
The victim is one of the couple's two daughters. The man married his wife in 2006.
The man slept next his wife, while the family slept on four single mattresses arranged side by side in a common bedroom at home.
The initial occurrence took place from 2018 to April 2019.
Before approaching the victim, who was on the mattress farthest away from him, the man waited until everyone had fallen asleep. He made her touch him improperly, kissed her lips, and raped her over her clothing.
In December 2020, while his daughter was sleeping, he sexually assaulted her once more. At about the same time, the third occurrence took place.
According to the court, the man was unaware that the victim had an intellectual disability at the time of the occurrence.
It wasn't until 2023 that the victim informed her foster parents that she had been touched inappropriately that the offenses were discovered.
On March 9, 2023, the foster parents informed the girl's child protection officer.
After her parents separated the year before, the girl was placed in a foster family in 2022.
As his sentence was read out, the man, who appeared via video-link, showed no emotion.
Although the prosecution and defense acknowledged that the man was unaware of his daughter's mental illness at the time, District Judge Crystal Tan stated that general and specific deterrence were the main factors taken into account when determining the appropriate sentence in this case.
Anyone found guilty of outrage of modesty faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a fine, caning, or any combination of these penalties.
Anyone found guilty of the outrage of modesty of a person under the age of 14 faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine, caning, or a combination of these penalties.
