Man jailed 16 months for molesting daughter, 14
His teenage daughter would sleep in the same bed as him and did so even after he had molested her two months earlier.
But the 52-year-old exploited that trust and molested her again when his wife, a nurse, was working the night shift.
The man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, was yesterday jailed for a year and four months after pleading guilty to using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the then 14-year-old. A second similar charge was taken into consideration.
Court documents revealed he had molested his daughter twice, once in January last year and again in March that year.
On the second occasion, the girl was half-asleep when he touched her. Feeling afraid, she turned with her back facing her father, hoping he would stop.
He continued his assault after a few minutes. He stopped only when she sat up. They left the bed pretending nothing happened.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Seah Ee Wei told the court the girl felt disturbed and embarrassed.
Fearful of confronting her father, the girl did not dare tell her mother as she was afraid her mum would not believe her.
CHANGE
The crime came to light when her teacher noticed a change in the girl's manner and referred her to the school counsellor.
A Ministry of Social and Family Development officer took the girl to file a police report.
Asking for at least 14 months' jail, DPP Seah said the girl, a vulnerable victim, had clearly suffered psychological harm.
She added that the accused ought to have been a protective figure and the offences were a clear abuse of trust.
The man's defence lawyer, Mr Ashwin Ganapathy, accepted this was a heinous case.
He said the accused has been addicted to pornography for the past 20 to 30 years and was diagnosed with habit and impulse control disorder.
In mitigation, Mr Ganapathy said the man was remorseful and has been attending sessions at the National Addictions Management Service regularly to treat his condition.
District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam said during sentencing: "The court has to impose a sentence that will send a message to others and to yourself."
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