Freelance drum instructor molested 11-year-old student, used secret code to hide sexual conversation
www.channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: A drum instructor began giving lessons to a girl when she was six years old. But after Justin Lu Zhao En was hired to teach her in the privacy of her own home, the 32-year-old man began preying on the girl.
Under the pretext of seeing her homework, the man went to the girl's bedroom, where he molested her.
He then began exchanging sexually explicit text messages with her, even developing a secret code to indicate when there was someone nearby. The two also had a Facetime video chat where they engaged in sexual acts.
Lu was jailed for three-and-a-half years and sentenced to six strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Dec 5) after pleading guilty to two counts of molesting a person under 14, one count of displaying an obscene object at her, and two charges of procuring the commission of an indecent act from a young person.
Another three charges of a similar nature and one charge of obstructing justice were considered for his sentencing.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order protecting her identity.
The court heard that she began taking drum lessons at a music studio when she was six. The accused was her instructor.
These lessons continued until he left the music studio in 2018, and she was assigned to other teachers.
The victim's father later hired the accused, then a freelance drum teacher, to give his daughter private lessons as she preferred his lessons.
From 2019, the accused began conducting weekly drum lessons in the living room of the victim's house. During the lessons, an adult, either the domestic helper or the victim's parents, would be in the house.
While nothing occurred initially, the accused began preying on the girl in 2021 when she was 11.
On Feb 23, 2021, after lessons had ended, the accused asked to see the victim's homework and the two headed to her bedroom. As they sat on chairs beside each other, the man molested her, shocking the girl. She did not inform anyone of the incident as she did not want to think about it.
The two also texted about sexual matters. Lu developed a secret code to indicate if someone was near the girl when they did so. This involved three emojis in green, orange and red.
"Green emoji meant that it was clear to talk, orange emoji meant that there was someone there and not to talk about sexual matters, and finally the red emoji meant 'I do not want to talk about sexual matters right now'," court documents stated.
The victim constantly used the red emoji as the accused kept pestering her for nude images and videos.
Between February and March 2021, the man made a Facetime video call to the victim where he directed her to perform indecent acts and exposed himself to her.
On Mar 2, 2021, the man molested the girl again after a drumming lesson. A few days later, he asked her for nude images and videos and she complied. In the same conversation, he asked her to perform sexual acts.
Her father later discovered the offences and lodged a police report on Mar 6, 2021.
According to his charge sheet, in May 2022, the accused made a WhatsApp call to the victim, asking her to withdraw her sexual assault allegation and drop her case against him.
In its sentencing submissions, the prosecution said that the accused had abused the relationship of trust, making use of it to gain sexual gratification.
The number of charges also pointed to the aggravated circumstances and continued abuse of the victim, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Yi Cheng.
Commenting on the case, District Judge Brenda Chua noted that the accused's lawyer Wayne Ong had said in mitigation that while his client had been in a position of responsibility towards the victim, his authority was weak.
"It's not weak at all," said the judge.
The accused had effectively been the victim's instructor or teacher for six years, she noted.
She also considered that he had used emojis as a secret code, signifying that there was something to hide.
www.channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: A drum instructor began giving lessons to a girl when she was six years old. But after Justin Lu Zhao En was hired to teach her in the privacy of her own home, the 32-year-old man began preying on the girl.
Under the pretext of seeing her homework, the man went to the girl's bedroom, where he molested her.
He then began exchanging sexually explicit text messages with her, even developing a secret code to indicate when there was someone nearby. The two also had a Facetime video chat where they engaged in sexual acts.
Lu was jailed for three-and-a-half years and sentenced to six strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Dec 5) after pleading guilty to two counts of molesting a person under 14, one count of displaying an obscene object at her, and two charges of procuring the commission of an indecent act from a young person.
Another three charges of a similar nature and one charge of obstructing justice were considered for his sentencing.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order protecting her identity.
The court heard that she began taking drum lessons at a music studio when she was six. The accused was her instructor.
These lessons continued until he left the music studio in 2018, and she was assigned to other teachers.
The victim's father later hired the accused, then a freelance drum teacher, to give his daughter private lessons as she preferred his lessons.
From 2019, the accused began conducting weekly drum lessons in the living room of the victim's house. During the lessons, an adult, either the domestic helper or the victim's parents, would be in the house.
While nothing occurred initially, the accused began preying on the girl in 2021 when she was 11.
On Feb 23, 2021, after lessons had ended, the accused asked to see the victim's homework and the two headed to her bedroom. As they sat on chairs beside each other, the man molested her, shocking the girl. She did not inform anyone of the incident as she did not want to think about it.
The two also texted about sexual matters. Lu developed a secret code to indicate if someone was near the girl when they did so. This involved three emojis in green, orange and red.
"Green emoji meant that it was clear to talk, orange emoji meant that there was someone there and not to talk about sexual matters, and finally the red emoji meant 'I do not want to talk about sexual matters right now'," court documents stated.
The victim constantly used the red emoji as the accused kept pestering her for nude images and videos.
Between February and March 2021, the man made a Facetime video call to the victim where he directed her to perform indecent acts and exposed himself to her.
On Mar 2, 2021, the man molested the girl again after a drumming lesson. A few days later, he asked her for nude images and videos and she complied. In the same conversation, he asked her to perform sexual acts.
Her father later discovered the offences and lodged a police report on Mar 6, 2021.
According to his charge sheet, in May 2022, the accused made a WhatsApp call to the victim, asking her to withdraw her sexual assault allegation and drop her case against him.
In its sentencing submissions, the prosecution said that the accused had abused the relationship of trust, making use of it to gain sexual gratification.
The number of charges also pointed to the aggravated circumstances and continued abuse of the victim, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Yi Cheng.
Commenting on the case, District Judge Brenda Chua noted that the accused's lawyer Wayne Ong had said in mitigation that while his client had been in a position of responsibility towards the victim, his authority was weak.
"It's not weak at all," said the judge.
The accused had effectively been the victim's instructor or teacher for six years, she noted.
She also considered that he had used emojis as a secret code, signifying that there was something to hide.
