YouTuber Dee Kosh to plead guilty to sexual offences, including exploitation of young persons

Local YouTuber and former radio DJ Dee Kosh will plead guilty to multiple sex-related offences, his lawyer from Eugene Thuraisingam LLP told the court on Tuesday (Jan 25).

The 33-year-old, whose real name is Darryl Ian Koshy, was given seven charges in August last year. This includes communicating with a minor for the purpose of obtaining sexual services, sexually exploiting a young person, making an obscene film and possessing an obscene film.

His alleged offences involved at least four boys aged between 15 and 17 years.

Dee Kosh is accused of offering up to $2,000 to a 16-year-old boy in February 2017 in exchange for allowing him to perform a sex act on the teen.

Between March and June 2018, he allegedly attempted to procure an indecent act from a 15-year-old by asking the boy to perform sexual acts on him in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money.

He also allegedly offered two 17-year-old boys up to $1,000 in July 2018 and August 2020 in exchange for oral sex from the teens.

Dee Kosh also purportedly possessed 23 obscene videos in his flat on Oct 5 last year, and made two such videos there sometime between 2016 and 2017.

According to media reports, the police previously said that some of the videos that he allegedly possessed showed him performing sex acts with others, and were taken without the other party's knowledge.

He rose to fame posting comedy sketches on YouTube to over 360,000 subscribers and later became a presenter on radio station Power 98.

In an Instagram post shared on Aug 17 last year, he apologised to the people he have hurt.

"I promise that from here on now I will do everything in my power to be better. I hope I can have your forgiveness," Dee Kosh wrote at that time.

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Dee Kosh could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $10,000, or both, if convicted under the Children and Young Persons Act for sexual exploitation of a young person.

If found guilty of communications for the purpose of obtaining sexual services of a minor, he could be jailed for up to two years and fined.

For making an obscene film, the penalties are a jail term of up to two years and a fine of between $20,000 and $40,000. The punishment for possessing obscene films are a maximum of six months' jail, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.

ALSO READ: 'I am sorry to the people I have hurt': Dee Kosh addresses sexual harassment allegations

chingshijie@asiaone.com