SINGAPORE: A former research fellow at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of child abuse material.
Jason Scott Herrin (pic), 50, was found with 90 images of child abuse after his mobile phone was seized in August 2020, as part of a separate police investigation.
The nature of the police investigation was not elaborated on in court.
Appearing in the State Courts on Feb 28, the American national was found guilty of the single charge and sentenced to six months’ jail.
He is expected to surrender on March 7 to serve his sentence, after being granted a week’s deferment to settle his personal affairs.
Three other charges were taken into consideration for Herrin’s sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said all three charges were of a similar nature to the proceeded charge, and showed a “disturbing” progression of Herrin’s offences.
One involved him sending a WhatsApp message to an Indonesian phone number in November 2019 to offer money for sexual services with 12-year-old girls.
He also sent a message to another foreign number in February 2020 seeking to procure sexual services from a child. He had indicated in the message that he was willing to pay a high price.
DPP Lim said: “This is important as it shows he was progressing from just consuming materials to attempting to do something far more insidious with young children.”
The prosecutor also pointed out that while Herrin had pleaded guilty, his plea came only right before the case was about to go to trial. Herrin was first charged in 2022.
In mitigation, Herrin’s lawyer, Sukhmit Singh of Damodara Ong law firm, said Herrin suffered from persistent depressive disorder.
Singh pointed out that Herrin had downloaded the images off the internet only for his own consumption, and did not share or distribute the child abuse materials to anyone else.
An NTU spokesperson said on March 18, 2024, that Herrin’s employment was terminated by the university on April 7, 2022.
When Herrin was first charged in January 2022, NTU’s website listed him as a staff scientist at the Facility for Analysis, Characterisation, Testing and Simulation.
The Earth Observatory of Singapore’s website stated at the time that he was “involved in volcano research and the study of meteorites and asteroid impacts on Earth”.
Those convicted of possessing or gaining access to child abuse material can be jailed for up to five years, and fined or caned. - The Straits Times/ANN
