A teacher will be caned three times and jailed for 18 months after he admitted to molesting a three-year-old girl at a learning centre in Singapore.
The teacher, a British man known as Richard Christopher Monks, 29, was sentenced on Thursday, March 4 after he pleaded guilty to the charge of “outrage of modesty” in February.
He initially denied the allegations, despite the abuse being captured on CCTV.
He was seen on security camera footage lifting up the dress of the little girl and molesting her with his left hand for 15 minutes.
The clip, recorded on October 20, 2018, shows the disgraced pedophile use his right hand to point a camera up her skirt.
Monks, who was 27 at the time, reportedly filmed the abuse on his phone in the presence of six other children, aged between four and five.
His victim was the youngest child in the class and was aged three years and 11 months, according to local media.
According to the Straits Times reports, The court was shown footage of Monks on the day of the incident at around 5:20pm, as he rearranged chairs in the classroom to watch a video with his students.
Knowing that a security camera was installed in one corner of the room, he strategically positioned himself behind the children to avoid the abuse being recorded on CCTV.
The other children’s upper bodies blocked the view of the camera as he approached the victim from behind.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien said: “The victim was uncomfortable with the accused’s touch, and expressed her discomfort by fidgeting and turning back to look at him several times during the said duration.
The prosecutor say that the victim now fears falling asleep alone and uncontrollably wets the bed after the traumatic abuse she suffered in the presence of her classmates
The victim’s parents only became aware of the abuse a week later when she was unwilling to attend the class before she complained “teacher Richard” had “touched her”.
When her mother asked where he had touched her, the terrified child pointed to her bottom. A police report was filed by her mother on the same day.
Monks was arrested on November 1, 2018, after returning from a visit to Thailand and he originally denied the girl’s claims to police.
His lawyer claimed Monks committed the disgusting crime due to “a momentary lapse of judgment owing to work-related stress and anxiety”.
His legal team say Monks told his supervisor before the incident that he had trouble sleeping, and was prescribed medication for anxiety and insomnia on December 20, 2018 after seeing a doctor.
They also said the teacher had apologised to the victim and her family.
Under Singapore law, offenders can be fined, caned, or jailed for up to five years if found guilty of molesting a child aged below 14 years.
