Woman pretended to be a man to sexually abuse underage girl
A woman who identifies as a male admitted in court on Monday (Dec 7) to sexually penetrating an underage girl between March 2012 and December 2013.
Zunika Ahmad, now 39, pretended to be a man when she committed the offences and her teenage victim, who consented to the sexual acts, was not aware she was a woman.
The girl was between 13 and 14 years old when Zunika sexually penetrated her with a sex toy and later, her fingers.
Zunika's lawyer, Ms N. Sudha Nair, said her client switched to using her fingers as she felt it was "less sinful".
Zunika, who is "married" to two other women who believed she was a man, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexually penetrating the minor and one count of committing an obscene act on her.
Fourteen other charges for similar offences will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Zunika and her two 'wives' became neighbours with the victim's family in 2003. In 2011, one of Zunika's 'wives' invited the victim and her siblings to their home as their mother had abandoned them.
The girl later confessed her feelings for Zunika, whom she believed was a man.
Both of Zunika's 'wives' were in court on Monday (Dec 7).
Zunika, who is jobless, is now out on a bail of $60,000 and she will be sentenced at a later date.
Read the full report in our print edition on Dec 8.
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