A calculating cruel and predatory paedophile who used Snapchat to trick teenage women into performing sexual acts was sentenced to nine years' jail.
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The 35-year-old man pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Launceston, Tasmania, to two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and three counts of involving a person under the age of 18 in the production of child exploitation material between November 2018 and February 2019.
Justice Robert Pearce said that the man would have received a head sentence of 10 and a half years if he had not pleaded guilty thereby saving the three young women the trauma of giving evidence in a trial.
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The man manipulated teenagers aged 13, 16 and 17-years-old into sexual acts by threatening to publish on the internet the nude images they sent him via Snapchat.
"You behaved in a degrading, heartless way," Justice Pearce said.
The offences occurred at two Northern Tasmanian towns involving three female complainants.
He used a screen recording program to take screenshots, converse to usual Snapchat processes which ensure that images are temporary or disappear.
Justice Pearce said the man used a fake name and posed as an 18-year-old male to befriend request a 13-year-old girl.
He asked her to send nude images and eventually persuaded her to send an image of her breasts.
He sent pornographic pictures of himself and threatened he would cut himself if she stopped sending images.
He used a fake name George Johnston to befriend a 16-year-old girl.
He requested pornographic images and she sent some of her bottom, vagina and one of her masturbating, which comprised a count of production of child exploitation material.
When the girl blocked him he used a separate identity Lily Jones to threaten her saying George Johnston would publish the images.
He demanded a meeting and went to a park and into a public toilet.
He filmed her having oral sexual intercourse with him and indecently assaulted her by licking her vagina.
In following days the girl panicked and told friends after the man used one of his identities to demand vaginal sexual intercourse. Tasmania Police were notified.
In the third case, one of his fake identities offered a 17-year-old girl $120,000 if she would take part in a nude photoshoot and have sex with the photographer, John Seymour.
He told her the shoot would help her get into a modelling career.
Posing as John Seymour he met the girl in a park near Launceston and took nude photographs and filmed her performing erotic acts.
He showed her a fake screenshot purporting to show a payment of $60,000. He told her she had to perform oral sexual intercourse which she did.
He falsely claimed that another photoshoot would be required because of technical problems.
The State asserted that neither of the girls consented to the oral sexual intercourse and it was therefore rape.
He was identified by a photo board after police began investigations.
Justice Pearce said anguish of the victims must have been traumatic.
"The filming of the acts was especially demeaning," he said.
"The only appropriate sentence is a very substantial prison sentence."
He backdated the sentence to May 9, 2019, and allowed him to apply for parole after four and a half years.
He ordered that the man's name be placed on the sex offender register for 15 years from the date of release.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
