Man rapes 11-year-old daughter and films act after lover encourages him to do so
The pair was sentenced to 24 and 22 years in prison, respectively.
A foreign man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting and raping his 11-year-old daughter while filming the acts, after being encouraged to do so by his lover, who was a domestic helper from another household.
The helper, Shiela Marie Ibales Albao, a 33-year-old Filipina woman, was convicted of inciting the American man to commit the sexual abuse and received a 22-year jail sentence.
According to a report by Shin Min Daily News, the man faced 16 charges, including statutory rape, offences under the Children and Young Persons Act, and perverting the course of justice. Albao faced 14 charges, mainly for abetting him to commit sexual assault and rape.
To protect the victim's identity, the judge ordered a media gag on any information that could reveal her identity, including the name of the accused.
Lover encourages man to sexually abuse daughter
Court documents stated that the man had separated from his wife in 2019. The victim lived with her mother during the week and stayed at her father's home on weekends.
The man met Albao through the dating app, Tinder. They began a relationship soon after, and he introduced his daughter to her, instructing the child not to tell anyone about their relationship.
The pair frequently exchanged sexually explicit messages, which included discussions about sexual acts involving children or pets.
On the evening of March 17, 2023, the victim arrived at her father's home for the weekend. The woman messaged the man, instructing him to send her a photo of the victim touching him.
The man then challenged his daughter to undergo a series of tasks to win a "bet", first manipulating her into grasping his genitals.
She was then coerced into performing oral sex on him and made to do other indecent acts. According to The Straits Times, this included instances where she was made to carry a karaoke set above her head.
Throughout the ordeal, the man would send photos and videos of the sexual assault to the woman, who encouraged him to continue molesting the victim.
ST said Albao sent over voice messages congratulating the victim for winning a sum of money and complimenting her for doing a great job.
She also asked the man to reshoot a video because the initial recording did not clearly capture the victim's face, said Shin Min.
She was subsequently raped after Albao encouraged the man to carry out more acts.
The man later instructed his daughter to keep the abuse secret, warning that he would get into trouble if she told anyone.
Victim opens up about assault
According to Shin Min, the victim only realised her father's actions were wrong after attending a sexuality education lesson at school.
She was confused at the time and kept silent because her father had told her not to tell anyone. It was only two months later, on May 4, 2023, that she confided in her form teacher.
She later said she felt sadness and anger, and has since suffered from insomnia, nightmares and suicidal thoughts. She has developed a fear of adult men, struggles to trust others, and has engaged in self-harm.
In her victim impact statement, the girl said she feels trapped and unable to escape from the situation.
"I never imagined that the person I trusted the most in the world would lie to me and make me feel like I no longer belonged here… I could only keep it inside and try to deal with these feelings on my own," she said.
Man arrested at hospital
After receiving a call to meet his daughter and her mother at the hospital, the man suspected the matter had been reported. He deleted all his text messages with Albao and instructed her to do the same.
He also sent a voice message telling her not to contact him.
The man was arrested at the hospital the same day. Albao, who was arrested a day later, did not delete the evidence from her phone, and the police managed to recover 43 photos and 20 videos.
When questioned, the man claimed he could not remember the incidents, citing dementia, undiagnosed Alzheimer's disease, head injuries, and an alcohol-induced blackout.
His defence lawyer noted in mitigation that he had pleaded guilty to his offences, while Albao's lawyer argued that she was not physically present when the crimes were being committed.