An Indian-origin man has been handed a jail sentence of 10 years and six months for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 2007.
Ranjeet Prasad, who the prosecution said showed a total lack of remorse, was found guilty of three counts of having carnal intercourse against the order of nature.
According to a judgment dated March 3, the man abused the boy in 2007, The Straits Times reported on Monday.
Prasad is appealing against the conviction and sentence.
District Judge John Ng while sentencing Prasad took into account that there was abuse of a position of authority by the accused, who previously worked with young people at the People's Association (PA), a state-run institution operating social services for the society here.
The judge said the incidents negatively impacted the victim's life.
“He had a girlfriend at that point in time and the incident had left him questioning his sexual orientation and prospects for marriage,” the judge added.
Prasad first met the teen in 2007 at an office in Paya Lebar.
There is a gag order in place to protect the victim's identity.
The accused was then managing PA's community projects in the South East and North West community development councils (CDCs) and oversaw the South East CDC's youth network programme.
In his testimony, the victim said that he was excited to join the youth network as it involved modelling. It was something that he was interested in pursuing in line with his hopes of becoming a singer or an actor.
In a subsequent meeting, Prasad asked the victim if he was interested in modelling and told him that he had the potential to do well. The accused added that he was interested in working with the victim.
Seeing that the victim was keen, Prasad took down his contact number and later messaged him.
Prasad asked the victim “how far he was willing to go” and whether he had performed oral sex before.
The victim said no and testified that he was confused at that moment.
Prasad later invited him to his office. The teen said that he felt excited and agreed because he thought he might be securing a photo shoot or could be signed up or recruited as a talent.
At that time, he felt Prasad's earlier question was only playful.
The accused asked the teen in office if he wanted to get himself into a photo shoot and if he was “adventurous”. Prasad took the teen to a public toilet and made the boy perform a sexual act on him in one of the cubicles.
A week or two later, Prasad arranged to meet the victim. The boy agreed only because he again thought that an audition or photo shoot was being arranged for him.
The accused instead took him to a hotel and undressed himself and told the boy to follow suit. The victim felt that he had to get it “done and over with”.
Prasad then made the victim perform a sexual act on him before sexually penetrating the boy.
On July 24, 2018, the victim contacted the accused – who had become PA's head of youth and sports in 2017 – via Facebook Messenger wanting to meet him.
The victim wanted to let Prasad know how the acts he had been subjected to as a boy had destroyed him.
There was an exchange of messages before the accused called and spoke to the victim on the phone, but Prasad subsequently blocked the victim on social media.
On May 30, 2020, the victim wrote to Prasad's work e-mail address, accusing the man of having manipulated him into engaging in sexual activities in a carpark toilet and in a hotel room.
Prasad did not respond. The victim eventually lodged a police report on August 24, 2020.
During the trial, the accused denied committing any of the acts, but Judge Ng said that he had no reservations about believing the victim's account.
He said the teen's description from his memory of the incident in the toilet was sufficiently detailed in particulars and connected in sequence.
Judge Ng also said the victim had no motive to lie and nothing to gain from fabricating untruths against Prasad.
He added that the victim could not tell anyone about the abuse as his strong religious upbringing made him fearful.
Judge Ng while sentencing Prasad said it was aggravating that the accused took advantage of a youthful person, who was in his late teens, to satisfy his lust.
“The acts of the accused and the manner of luring the victim with the promise of a bright future revealed a highly corruptive influence being exerted by the accused to achieve his lascivious aims. This is particularly aggravating,” he said.
The PA said that it took a serious view of the offences committed by Prasad, adding its staff is expected to uphold strict standards of conduct and integrity expected of public service.
The association said it acted decisively to safeguard the interests and safety of youths and took immediate action to place Prasad on leave once it learnt of his arrest.
The association added that Prasad was suspended in early September 2020 and was not involved in its work until his dismissal on October 23, 2024, the day he was convicted. PTI GS AS AS
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
