Ex-DJ Dee Kosh jailed 32 weeks for sexual offences involving teenage boys
SINGAPORE — Former radio deejay and YouTuber Dee Kosh was sentenced to 32 weeks' jail on Friday (5 August) for sexual offences against minors.
The 33-year-old, whose real name is Darryl Ian Koshy, pleaded guilty in May to trying to procure an indecent act from a 15-year-old male victim, as well as communicating with a minor to obtain sexual services. Two other related charges were considered for sentencing.
In total, he solicited sex from four teenage boys between February 2017 and August 2020.
Koshy also pleaded guilty to making an obscene video by filming sexual acts with a 24-year-old victim without the latter's consent.Two more charges of making and possessing obscene films were taken into consideration for sentencing.
All the victims' identities are protected by gag order.
On Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Ying Min had called Koshy a "seasoned criminal skilled at avoiding detection". She sought five to eight months' jail, adding that Koshy's offences were highly premeditated.
Defence counsel Johannes Hadi argued that his client was remorseful, and highlighted his good prospects for rehabilitation as assessed by a psychiatrist. He asked for a shorter jail term of two-and-a-half months.
Background on the case
Koshy is a former radio host with local radio station Power 98. Multiple police reports were filed against him following a series of sexual harassment allegations on Instagram and Twitter in August 2020.
Investigations revealed that he had offered money in exchange for sex to victims, including those below 18 years of age, between 2017 and 2020.
He even offered one victim $2,000 for allowing him to perform a sexual act on him. Only one victim acceded to his requests.
Koshy would first befriend his victims and ascertain their ages on social media. At the time that the matter came to light, he had about 224,000 followers on Instagram and some 379,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In March 2018, he offered the 15-year-old victim up to $250 for the latter to perform a sexual act. He later also offered money to the victim for sex. The victim declined all the offers.
Koshy also made indecent proposals to the 17-year-old victim, offering up to $2,000 for the victim to let Koshy perform a sexual act on him in February 2017.
Meanwhile, he performed a sexual act on the 24-year-old victim in his bedroom sometime in 2016.
Thereafter, the victim would engage in sexual acts with Koshy, both paid and unpaid. But on at least one occasion, Koshy filmed them engaging in sexual acts without the victim's knowledge and consent.
Offences not reported immediately
Prosecution told the court that none of the victims reported the offences to the police immediately, as each thought he was the only victim and was afraid of going against "a celebrity with a large following".
It was not until allegations of misconduct by Koshy began surfacing online in August 2020 that the victims realised that they were not the only victims. Koshy was arrested on 5 October 2020.
Koshy could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to $10,000 or both for attempted sexual exploitation of a young person under the Children and Young Persons Act.
For communicating with the purpose of obtaining sexual services of a minor, he could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.
The penalty for making an obscene film is a jail term of up to two years and a fine of between $20,000 and $40,000.
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