SINGAPORE: A man who exposed his genitals to his young daughter and allowed her to touch them, claiming it was for “educational” reasons, was convicted on Thursday (Apr 24) following a trial.
The 40-year-old man, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was found guilty of one count of procuring the commission of an indecent act with a child.
This happened in 2016, when the man’s daughter was between five and six years old. She had expressed curiosity about the differences between boys and girls, court documents showed.
Later that year, the man, then 31, noticed her looking in his direction and asked if she was still curious.
When she nodded her head, the man exposed himself to her. He then asked if she wanted to touch his private parts. She nodded, and then did so.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, District Judge Carol Ling said she was unable to accept that the accused’s claim that he had done this to “educate” his child and not to sexually exploit her, adding that his reasons did not make it right or decent.
Whether an act is indecent or not is an evaluation of “objective standards”, she said, adding that the accused’s act of showing his private parts to any five or six-year-old was clearly an indecent act.
It did not matter whether the accused was the father of the child or that his child was constantly curious, or whether he had permission from his wife to do it, she said.
The circumstances around the incident, such as whether the man’s wife knew about his intention to do so before he acted, or whether she learnt about it only after it happened, were contested during the trials.
According to court documents, the accused admitted that he told his wife about the incident after it happened. His wife allegedly reacted by asking him not to do it again.
During the trial, the man and his wife “ultimately maintained” that it was the wife who told him to show their daughter his genitals and that he did not tell his wife only after the incident happened, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Yohanes Ng in his written closing submissions.
Mr Ng said the couple were not credible because their accounts were inconsistent.
“It is precisely because they both know that what happened during the incident was wrong, that they are now presenting a self-serving version seeking to absolve themselves,” he added.
Mr Ng also argued that whether the accused’s wife gave him permission to show their daughter his genitals and allowed her to touch them was irrelevant as to whether the act was subjectively or objectively indecent.
“An act that would otherwise be indecent would not be rendered decent simply because the victim’s parent(s) permitted the act to happen, in the same way that a victim’s parent(s)’ consent is irrelevant as to whether an act of rape, or molest, or even underage sex constitutes a crime,” he said.
“Taking such an interpretation would effectively give parents carte blanche (complete freedom) to allow others to sexually abuse their children.”
The man is also facing two other charges – one of criminal intimidation and another of voluntarily causing hurt.
His sentencing has been adjourned to May 7.
