Fourth conviction for 'incorrigible' sexual predator who preyed on children

A serial sexual predator who spent one-third of his adult life in prison for preying on children since 1999 has been convicted for the fourth time.

On Aug 11, Terence Thaver, 60, who was last released from prison in March 2021, pleaded guilty to three charges involving two victims.

He admitted to molesting an eight-year-old boy who lived in the same neighbourhood that he did in September 2023.

The other victim is a 26-year-old man who was sexually assaulted in 2007 when he was nine years old. He reported the incidents to the police in 2021.

Thaver pleaded guilty to one charge of outrage of modesty over the 2023 offences and two charges of unnatural sex over the 2007 offences.

Three other charges will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced at a later date.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong argued that Thaver's high risk of reoffending and his similar antecedents warranted a sentence of at least 18 years' preventive detention.

DPP Chong said if Thaver is found unsuitable for preventive detention, he should be sentenced to a jail term of 21 to 25 years, plus three months in lieu of caning, given that he cannot be caned as he is older than 50.

"The accused is an incorrigible sexual predator who has exploited eight children on 60 occasions from 1999 to 2023," said the prosecutor.

Thaver's lawyer, Mr Edwin Ho from the Public Defender's Office, sought eight years' jail.

He noted that Thaver had voluntarily sought treatment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for paedophilia four days after his release from prison in 2021, which showed a desire to rehabilitate himself.

Mr Ho said Thaver must be punished for the wrong he did, but added: "The path of rehabilitation is not smooth sailing for every offender."

Justice Valerie Thean called for a report to assess Thaver's suitability for preventive detention.

Under preventive detention, recalcitrant offenders are incarcerated for up to 20 years for the protection of the public and are not automatically entitled to the usual one-third remission.

Instead, such inmates can be eligible for release on licence after serving two-thirds or five-sixths of their sentences.

Thaver was a primary school teacher when he molested four 10-year-old girls in school between 1999 and 2000.

He was sentenced in 2001 to eight years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

In 2008, he hugged and kissed an eight-year-old boy at a neighbourhood outreach centre where he worked. He was sentenced to one year in jail in 2010.

Between 2007 and 2008, he performed oral sex on a boy, then between 10 and 11 years old, after offering to help the victim with his homework.

These offences came to light only in 2012, and Thaver was sentenced to 13 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane in 2014.

On Aug 11, DPP Chong told the court that from July 2007 to 2008, Thaver worked as the centre manager at PeaceConnect Neighbourhood Link, a neighbourhood community centre for children and the elderly.

The chairman of the organisation knew of Thaver's past convictions but gave him a chance, and told him that he had to be supervised whenever he interacted with children.

The 26-year-old victim, who was then a Primary 3 pupil, got to know Thaver as he frequented the centre to use its computers and play board games.

On four occasions between July and December 2007, Thaver carried out various sexual acts against the victim, either in his office or in the storeroom.

The victim reported this to the police in November 2021.

On Aug 17, 2022, the police gave Thaver a three-year conditional warning. Thaver breached the conditions of the warning when he molested the other victim in 2023.

The court was told that Thaver befriended the eight-year-old over a game of chess, and they frequently met at the common corridor outside the boy's flat to play chess.

On Sept 27, 2023, Thaver hugged the boy from behind and slipped his hand briefly into the victim's shorts.

The next day, the boy told his mother about what Thaver had done, and she lodged a police report. Thaver was arrested on Sept 29 and has been remanded since then.

The court was told he was diagnosed with paedophilia in May 2013.

Between March 2021 and September 2023, he attended follow-up outpatient sessions at the IMH. In August 2021, he was prescribed antidepressants to curb his libido.