A COMMUNITY Court judge has ordered a teen who committed six sexual offences against three mildly-retarded boys to be accompanied by his parents when he is in contact with intellectually challenged males.
The 16-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the victims' identities, was given a chance on Friday when he was placed on 36 months' probation.
He has to undergo 120 hours of community service, attend a treatment programme, and was bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
Community Court judge Ng Peng Hong heard on Friday that the teen, who has an IQ level of 84 which puts him at a low average range of intelligence, has a moderate risk of committing similar offences.
Assistant Public Prosecutor N.K. Anitha pointed out that the accused was likely to engage in a significant amount of sexual grooming behaviour once he has identified a potential victim.
The psychologist recommended that he should not have unsupervised contact with those around his age or older males, especially those who are intellectually challenged.
The teen had earlier admitted to two counts of anal sex with two 15-year-old schoolmates in March and November 2008. He was then 14.
The court heard that he started thinking of being intimate with male persons in 2007 after surfing pornographic websites featuring homosexuality. Over a period of eight months in 2008, he took three victims, including a classmate, to carparks in Bukit Panjang for homosexual acts.
He was found out last year when one of the victims informed his mother that the accused had threatened him. The school was informed and a staff member called the police.
The accused could have been jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined on each charge.
-- ST