In a shocking incident, a 39-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane on October 21, for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old daughter.
The man pleaded guilty to charges, which involved molestation of a minor and also sexual assault by penetration of a minor.
According to a CNA report, another three charges were considered during the sentencing.
Man Gets Jail For Sexually Abusing His 13-Year-Old Daughter
The accused was a part-time food deliveryman and lived in a flat with his wife, the victim, his elder son and his younger sister. He also has two other daughters who do not live in the same flat as the family.
The victim's mum had taken a new job in December 2019, that required her to leave the house and return home only at night.
Her husband, on the other hand, stayed at home to take care of their children. One the fateful month, he eyed his 13-year-old daughter, who was studying in Secondary 2 at the time.
The prosecutor mentioned that the accused asked his daughter sexual questions before molesting her and also sexually assaulting her. He asked for his daughter's consent two times but failed.
The victim even though didn't give her consent but didn't stop her father either as she was afraid of him.
Victim Felt Enraged And Kept It To Herself
The victim felt enraged and disappointed that her own father outraged her modesty. She decided to not share the horrid incident with her mother as she felt that the latter would not believe her.
She was also scared that her revelation would cause her family to fall apart.
Equally, the girl also felt burdened with the question of 'who would take care of the family if her father was sent to jail and how it would affect her younger siblings if her parents separated.' At the same time, she also feared that her father might target her other sisters.
She, therefore decided to run away, in order to avoid her father. She did this three times in December 2019. The following month, her school reopened and she always tried to stay out late after school hours.
The Second Time, She Shared With Her School Friends
All this while, her father was just waiting for another opportunity. On January 20, 2020, after the victim returned from school, she lay down beside her sister who was sleeping in the living room.
Within minutes, her father came in between them and sexually assaulted the victim.
The matter came to light when the victim went and shared it with her school friends. The school counsellor was alerted and she along with her mum were interviewed at the Child Guidance Clinic in November 2020.
Signs Of Child Sexual Abuse Were Seen, As Victim Suffered Mental Trauma And Attempted Suicide
Medical reports revealed that the victim was in fact, bullied at school after the disclosure of the offences and even cut herself.
She suffered from mental trauma and expressed suicidal thoughts. She often had horrid dreams of her father pushing her into the sea and had slashed her wrist.
Prosecutors pushed for at least 11 years' jail time and 15 strokes of the cane, citing that he "egregiously breached the familial trust placed in him by covertly abusing the victim."
Similar Horrid Cases
Unfortunately, this is not a lone case. Earlier this week, a 50-year-old man was sentenced to 23 years in jail for raping his 11-year-old daughter on the advice of a Feng Shui master.
In another horrid case, a 45-year-old father received 21 years jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping and molesting his 11-year-old daughter. In fact, his crimes came to the front when he bought contraceptive pills for her and tried to trick her into taking them.
These incidents highlight that predators can come from familiar spaces. In most cases, sexual predators are people who you know or your child knows, for instance, relatives, friends or can be your neighbours.
Hence, it is important to be aware and educate your kids about the signs of child sexual abuse. However, remember that identifying whether a child has been sexually assaulted or not, isn't easy.
Not only does the act take place in secret, but young kids may not even realise that they are being sexually abused.
Signs Of Child Sexual Abuse
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, USA, published a fact sheet about the red flags you should watch out for that can indicate child sexual abuse.
- Increased sleeping issues such as nightmares.
- Sudden change in behaviour, for instance, increase in angry outbursts or being withdrawn.
- Facing anxiety and depression
- Having age-inappropriate behaviour and also sexual knowledge
- Having anxiety about being alone with a particular person.
You need to be more careful and watch more closely the signs of child sexual abuse in younger children as they may not be able to express and in most cases understand that it is wrong.
Be alert:
- If you find your child has new words for private body parts.
- When they ask other kids to behave sexually or play sexual games.
- If they resist removing clothes when appropriate times, such as during bath, toilet or diapering.
- Mimic adult-like sexual behaviour with stuffed toys or stuffed animals.
- When an older child behaves like a younger child, for instance, frequent bedwetting and thumb sucking.
In addition to these emotional and psychological signs, there are the physical signs of child sexual abuse to watch out.
If you see any of these signs, immediately take your child to the doctor.
- If there is persistent pain during urination or bowel movement.
- In case of pain, discolouration, bleeding or any kind of discharges in genitals, anus or even in the mouth
- Wetting and soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training are also to be closely watched.
Parents, our kids are often unaware of the dangers in their surroundings. This is mostly because of low awareness, therefore, we need to talk to them and sensitise them right from a very young age.
Not only in schools but parents should also talk to their kids about "good touch" and "bad touch." With enough vigilance and attention, we can surely prevent the worst from befalling our kids!
Source: CNA
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