Singapore, July 18: A Singapore court sentenced a man to 24 years in jail after he raped and abused a girl for more than seven years, a media report said Saturday.
The man, now 59, who was not named to protect the victim’s identity, was a spiritual adviser to the girl’s father and had been considered a family friend by her parents.
The married father of four children started to abuse the girl when she was 8 years old, exploiting the parents’ trust in him when he stayed overnight at their apartment many times, the Straits Times newspaper reported.
Even after the girl’s parents divorced in 2004 and the girl moved to another flat with her mother, he continued his crimes when the mother let him take care of the child while she was working, the report said.
The abuse came to light in summer 2008 after the girl, who has three sisters, confided in an aunt.
The long-time abuse had resulted in far-reaching harm for the victim, according to a psychiatrist.
“It would be difficult for (her), even with intensive counselling, to show recovery,” the report quoted him as saying.
As Singapore law reserves judicial caning for male criminals under the age of 50, the rapist will not be caned.
–Agencies–