Security guard jailed for molesting girl, 11
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — He was a familiar figure to the 11-year-old victim, who had exchanged greetings with the man on the few occasions she saw him loitering at a void deck in her neighbourhood.
But Vincent Bernard Anthony, 56, took advantage of the familiarity she had with him and molested the girl in November last year. For that, he was sentenced to 12 months’ jail yesterday.
The court heard that while both Anthony, a security guard, and the girl lived in Yishun, they were not known to each other.
But as Anthony usually hung out around the void deck near the girl’s place, he was a “familiar figure” to the victim, and they had exchanged greetings a couple of times before, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chee Ee Ling.
At about 8.45pm on Nov 8, the girl left home to buy dinner for her family.
While walking towards the coffee shop, she saw Anthony, who asked how she was. She replied to him and left.
On her way home about half an hour later, she saw him at the same void deck again and this time, he approached her and asked her for name, the court heard.
Anthony also asked her to sit with him, but the girl told him she needed to rush home as her family was waiting for their dinner.
He insisted and she complied out of fear and sat beside him immediately.
He then moved closer to her and placed his left arm around her shoulders. He gradually lowered his hand and touched her left breast.
Outraged and shocked, the girl immediately stood up and told him she had to leave. He later told her not to be upset, said DPP Chee.
When she reached home, the girl did not immediately inform her parents as she was afraid they would scold her.
But she eventually told her father what had happened as she could not sleep that night and started crying in bed.
A Child Guidance Clinic report found that the girl subsequently felt scared and was traumatised whenever someone beckoned her to “come” or “sit down”.
She also avoided men who resembled the accused, said DPP Chee.
In urging the court to impose a sentence of at least 12 months’ jail, the prosecutor noted that Anthony had brazenly approached the victim and directed her to sit beside him despite her unwillingness.
“He took the calculated risk that the victim, due to her vulnerability and timid demeanour, would not report him,” she said.
In addition, the offence had occurred in the victim’s neighbourhood, where the girl was entitled to feel safe, said DPP Chee.
“The accused’s act of molest against the victim had also left an indelible mark on her and traumatised her severely as evident in the (report),” she added.
In mitigation, Anthony’s lawyer noted that his client regretted his actions and assured the court that he would never commit such an offence again.
The maximum punishment for outraging the modesty of any person under 14 is a five-year jail term, a fine and caning.
