SINGAPORE — A man sexually groomed two girls aged 10 and 11 online, then tried to convince them to have sex with him.
Sulaiman Hussain, now 33, pleaded guilty on Friday (July 21) to two counts of sexually grooming underage girls with the intention of committing statutory rape and one count of procuring an underage girl to perform a sexual act on herself over a video call.
The court heard that Sulaiman, using an online moniker to disguise his identity, would approach females who looked like teenagers as he found them to be friendlier at that age.
He also pretended to be aged in his 20s as he said that once he disclosed his real age, potential victims would not "entertain" him.
Sulaiman is set to return to court for sentencing on Aug 8 when two other charges relating to the two victims will be taken into consideration.
The victims cannot be identified under a court order.
WHAT HAPPENED
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Zhi Hao told the court that sometime in September 2021, Sulaiman had initiated conversations of a sexual nature with a then 10-year-old girl he had added as a friend on Instagram.
Though she was 10 at the time she befriended Sulaiman, she had told him that she was 13 years old.
When he came across one of her online videos where she had glue on her hand, Sulaiman made a sexually suggestive comment and told the minor that he wanted to engage in sexual intercourse with her as she "turned him on".
He continued to ask her for sexual favours, such as asking for photographs of her private parts.
Even though she was uncomfortable, the 10-year-old sent a nude photograph of herself in the hope that Sulaiman would stop contacting her. This is the subject of one of the charges to be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The messages continued, along with video calls which she rejected.
Then in October 2021, Sulaiman again tried to video call her, and this time the minor accepted the call as she was curious to see what Sulaiman looked like, DPP Tan said.
When Sulaiman asked to see her private parts, she felt uncomfortable and covered her mobile phone's camera with a blanket.
However, the young girl eventually gave in to Sulaiman's requests and the two proceeded to perform sexual acts on themselves during the five-minute video call.
On Nov 1, 2021, Sulaiman messaged the minor, who had turned 11 by then, to arrange for a meeting the next day in the vicinity of her primary school where he intended to have sex with her.
When the girl did not turn up for the meeting, Sulaiman called her a "liar" and asked for a nude photograph of herself as an apology. She complied with his demand.
THE 11-YEAR-OLD VICTIM
On Oct 30, 2021, Sulaiman also initiated a sexually charged conversation with another 11-year-old and asked if she wished to perform a sexual act on him.
This is the subject of another charge that will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Even though the minor told him that she was only 11 years old, Sulaiman responded that he did not care and had told her that it is only for "experience".
He then asked to meet the 11-year-old in the vicinity of her primary school on Nov 1, 2021, where he intended to have her perform a sexual act on him before initiating sexual intercourse with her after, as he felt "horny".
As she was nervous, the girl asked if she could bring her two friends along but eventually agreed to meet Sulaiman alone, said DPP Tan.
However, the meeting did not take place as the 11-year-old was released late from school and was not able to make the 2.30pm meeting time.
Sulaiman arranged to meet her again and also sent her a photograph of his private parts.
Sulaiman was eventually arrested on Nov 3, 2021 after the girl's mother lodged a police report.
MAN HAD LOW SELF-ESTEEM: DEFENCE
In seeking 24 to 30 months' jail time for Sulaiman, DPP Tan said that the primary sentencing considerations are deterrence and retribution as the overall criminality is high.
He added that Sulaiman not only targeted primary school girls but had also shown some measure of persistence in how he chose to communicate with the victims, even taking advantage of their sexual curiosity with the intent to commit statutory rape.
Speaking on behalf of Sulaiman, defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy agreed that deterrence is important but asked for the court to consider imposing a 22-month jail term instead.
Mr Ganapathy also said that Sulaiman had created the Instagram account as he had "low self-esteem" and used a fake moniker and lied about his age only because girls would not talk to him.
For each count of sexual grooming of underage girls with the intention of committing statutory rape, Sulaiman could be jailed for up to four years or fined, or both.
For procuring an underage girl to perform a sexual act on herself, Sulaiman could be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...g-preteen-girls-intent-statutory-rape-2216536
Sulaiman Hussain, now 33, pleaded guilty on Friday (July 21) to two counts of sexually grooming underage girls with the intention of committing statutory rape and one count of procuring an underage girl to perform a sexual act on herself over a video call.
The court heard that Sulaiman, using an online moniker to disguise his identity, would approach females who looked like teenagers as he found them to be friendlier at that age.
He also pretended to be aged in his 20s as he said that once he disclosed his real age, potential victims would not "entertain" him.
Sulaiman is set to return to court for sentencing on Aug 8 when two other charges relating to the two victims will be taken into consideration.
The victims cannot be identified under a court order.
WHAT HAPPENED
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Zhi Hao told the court that sometime in September 2021, Sulaiman had initiated conversations of a sexual nature with a then 10-year-old girl he had added as a friend on Instagram.
Though she was 10 at the time she befriended Sulaiman, she had told him that she was 13 years old.
When he came across one of her online videos where she had glue on her hand, Sulaiman made a sexually suggestive comment and told the minor that he wanted to engage in sexual intercourse with her as she "turned him on".
He continued to ask her for sexual favours, such as asking for photographs of her private parts.
Even though she was uncomfortable, the 10-year-old sent a nude photograph of herself in the hope that Sulaiman would stop contacting her. This is the subject of one of the charges to be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The messages continued, along with video calls which she rejected.
Then in October 2021, Sulaiman again tried to video call her, and this time the minor accepted the call as she was curious to see what Sulaiman looked like, DPP Tan said.
When Sulaiman asked to see her private parts, she felt uncomfortable and covered her mobile phone's camera with a blanket.
However, the young girl eventually gave in to Sulaiman's requests and the two proceeded to perform sexual acts on themselves during the five-minute video call.
On Nov 1, 2021, Sulaiman messaged the minor, who had turned 11 by then, to arrange for a meeting the next day in the vicinity of her primary school where he intended to have sex with her.
When the girl did not turn up for the meeting, Sulaiman called her a "liar" and asked for a nude photograph of herself as an apology. She complied with his demand.
THE 11-YEAR-OLD VICTIM
On Oct 30, 2021, Sulaiman also initiated a sexually charged conversation with another 11-year-old and asked if she wished to perform a sexual act on him.
This is the subject of another charge that will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Even though the minor told him that she was only 11 years old, Sulaiman responded that he did not care and had told her that it is only for "experience".
He then asked to meet the 11-year-old in the vicinity of her primary school on Nov 1, 2021, where he intended to have her perform a sexual act on him before initiating sexual intercourse with her after, as he felt "horny".
As she was nervous, the girl asked if she could bring her two friends along but eventually agreed to meet Sulaiman alone, said DPP Tan.
However, the meeting did not take place as the 11-year-old was released late from school and was not able to make the 2.30pm meeting time.
Sulaiman arranged to meet her again and also sent her a photograph of his private parts.
Sulaiman was eventually arrested on Nov 3, 2021 after the girl's mother lodged a police report.
MAN HAD LOW SELF-ESTEEM: DEFENCE
In seeking 24 to 30 months' jail time for Sulaiman, DPP Tan said that the primary sentencing considerations are deterrence and retribution as the overall criminality is high.
He added that Sulaiman not only targeted primary school girls but had also shown some measure of persistence in how he chose to communicate with the victims, even taking advantage of their sexual curiosity with the intent to commit statutory rape.
Speaking on behalf of Sulaiman, defence lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy agreed that deterrence is important but asked for the court to consider imposing a 22-month jail term instead.
Mr Ganapathy also said that Sulaiman had created the Instagram account as he had "low self-esteem" and used a fake moniker and lied about his age only because girls would not talk to him.
For each count of sexual grooming of underage girls with the intention of committing statutory rape, Sulaiman could be jailed for up to four years or fined, or both.
For procuring an underage girl to perform a sexual act on herself, Sulaiman could be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...g-preteen-girls-intent-statutory-rape-2216536
