Eugene Quake pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material and another charge of obstructing the course of justice. - Photo: ST file
SINGAPORE: A teacher who downloaded child sexual abuse material and made obscene films at his condominium unit was sentenced to 13 months’ jail.
During investigations, Eugene Quake, 40, refused to give police the passwords to his iPhone and MacBook laptop, which could have contained more child pornography.
On Thursday (Aug 15), Quake pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material and another charge of obstructing the course of justice.
Two other charges of making and possessing obscene films at his Lakeholmz condo in Corporation Road, near Boon Lay, were taken into consideration.
The Ministry of Education told The Straits Times in June 2024 that Quake had been suspended since March 2023, and was no longer teaching at any school.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sheldon Lim told the court on Aug 15 that in 2020, Quake joined several Telegram chat groups where members frequently shared homosexual pornography with one another.
Some members would also share videos and photos of child sexual abuse material, which would automatically be downloaded to Quake’s phone after he viewed them.
On March 15, 2023, acting on information received, the police raided Quake’s condo unit and arrested him.
The police seized his primary iPhone and his backup iPhone, one MacBook laptop and one black portable drive.
Police officers reviewed the materials on the portable drive as it was not encrypted, and found 10 images containing child abuse material.
Quake admitted he had used the primary iPhone and the MacBook laptop to view pornography.
The police wanted to access these two devices as they believed there was more child abuse material stored inside.
Though Quake provided the police with the password to his backup iPhone, he refused to divulge the passwords to the primary iPhone and MacBook laptop. As a result, the police were unable to access the two devices.
DPP Lim asked for Quake to be jailed between 14 and 18 months, and described the child abuse material he had as “extremely disturbing content”.
The prosecutor added: “The depraved nature of the child sexual abuse material found in the accused’s (portable) drive strongly suggests that even more deviant content would be found in (his) primary phone and laptop.”
Quake made 23 obscene films between June and November 2019 at his condo.
He was also found to possess nearly 3,800 pieces of obscene material. Court documents did not disclose the types of material these were.
For possessing child abuse material, he could have been jailed for up to five years and fined or caned. For obstructing the course of justice, he could have been jailed for up to seven years or fined, or both. - The Straits Times/ANN
