Prosecutors say a 23-year-old man masquerading as a teenager on social media sought out a 13-year-old girl, groomed her, and then raped her with full knowledge of her young age.
The defendant, of George Town, faces a charge each of sexual communications with a child and meeting a child after sexual communications, two charges of indecent assault and an additional charge of rape. He denies the allegations.
On Thursday, 18 April, prosecutor Sarah Lewis, while setting out the case, told the jury of five women and two men that he used social media app Snapchat to groom the girl, which allows users to send messages, pictures and videos which are deleted after being opened.
“Students use this app to help prevent their parents from finding out what they have been up to,” explained Lewis. “For this reason, it is also popular for persons with criminal motives because the messages disappear.”
Prosecution: He knew her age
According to Lewis, the defendant first added the child on Snapchat in February 2023 after she was tagged in a photo by a friend, and began immediately sending her messages.
“He asked her her name, age and what school she went to,” said Lewis. “She told him she was 13, and in the ninth grade.”
Lewis added, “He should have known she was either 13 or 14 years old, given the grade she was in.”
The court heard that the defendant began complimenting the child, and eventually asked her for nude pictures.
Midday meet-up
The jury heard that during a scheduled school holiday, the child attended her mother’s workplace at a hotel on West Bay Road.
According to Lewis, the defendant went to the hotel, where he met the child by the pool and convinced her to join him in a hot tub.
After allegedly assaulting the child in the hot tub, he is said to have asked her to join him in a nearby bathroom, where he is said to have assaulted and raped her.
“She could not legally content to such an act, which gives rise to the fifth count on the indictment, which is rape,” said Lewis.
A mother’s suspicion
According to the prosecutor, he is said to have sent the child out of the bathroom first and then leave not long after.
“The child’s mother saw her daughter coming from the bathroom and became suspicious, and when she asked her who the man was, she told her mother she didn’t know him,” said Lewis.
The jury was told that the mother took her daughter home, where she asked again, this time telling her she would watch the hotel’s CCTV cameras to find out the truth.
“She promised to tell her mother the truth if she wouldn’t get mad,” said Lewis, who added that the child eventually told her mother everything.
DNA evidence said to link defendant to the child
The mother reported the matter to the police and her child was examined by doctors.
The report led to the man’s arrest, and questioning.
“He told police that he did meet her at the [hotel] and that it was the child who asked him to go into the hot tub, and that she asked him to go into the bathroom to talk because people were watching them while they were in the open.”
Lewis told the court that the defendant accepts that he went in the bathroom but denied having sex with her.
Lewis said DNA evidence would later return “a positive match” for the defendant in semen samples taken from the victim, along with other evidence consistent with sexual activity.
Snapchat messages
The court heard that, of the more than 1,000 messages sent between the defendant and the child via Snapchat, the vast majority were deleted.
Police investigations were further hampered by the man, who is said to have provided incorrect passwords to his phones.
However, WhatsApp messages recovered from the child’s phone show some messages between the two.
The man is said to have told police that he did ask the child for nude pictures and sexually explicit videos, but only because he believed she was 17 years old and about to turn 18.
“He says he believed she was much older because of the way in which she communicated,” said Lewis, who continued to read out an excerpt of the messages.
“The defendant sent a message saying, ‘Hi, my dad is taking us to the movies and says I can carry someone if I want, do you want to come?” said Lewis.
In response to that text, Lewis said the girl replied, “I will have to ask my mom, and then maybe.”
Lewis added, “This was far from a mature woman – it further reveals [the defendant] was masquerading as a child who could only bring another child if his father said so.”
The trial continues. The defendant remains in custody.
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