A Kangaroo Flat man showed “contempt and disregard” for the young women sexually degraded in the Benders Root Rate Facebook page he helped set up, a court has heard.
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David McRory, 22, created the site with co-offender Josh Turner in June last year.
The page encouraged people to rate the sexual performance of past partners and included sexually explicit and degrading comments about girls as young as 13.
In the Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday, prosecuting, Leading Senior Constable Lindsay Riley said McRory had set up the page for “a laugh, entertainment”.
But he said at least one of McRory’s victims didn’t see it that way.
Leading Senior Constable Riley said the young girl – who is still under 18 – had come to police with a complaint about being named and slandered on the site.
He said police went to the home of McRory and Turner, where McRory made full admissions to creating the site and administering it.
“He said he did not read the messages before posting them, because there were too many,” Leading Senior Constable Riley said.
In court yesterday, McRory pleaded guilty to charges of using a carriage service to offend and using an online information service to publish objectionable material. He also pleaded guilty to a series of unrelated traffic and theft related offences.
Leading Senior Constable Riley said McRory had shown no remorse for setting up Benders Root Rate.
Leading Senior Constable Riley said when the Bendigo Advertiser published a story about the Benders Root Rate page, McRory wrote on his Facebook wall “must be a slow news day” and “some b***h has had a sook”.
“This shows his contempt and disregard for people’s feelings,” he said.
McRory’s lawyer, Luke Docherty, admitted his client’s behaviour was immature and naive, but asked Magistrate Richard Wright to consider the behaviour as “reckless” rather than intentional.
Mr Docherty said his client had a newborn child who was sick in hospital, and asked Mr Wright to consider a suspended sentence.
But Leading Senior Constable Riley said McRory’s significant criminal history and lack of remorse meant an immediate jail term was warranted.
Mr Wright said he could “only endorse” the prosecutor’s observations. “These sorts of matters deserve the condemnation of the court,” he said.
“I need to send you and others a message.”
Mr Wright sentenced McRory to four months’ jail on each of the two Facebook related charges and separate charges of obtaining property by deception.
The terms will be served concurrently for a total effective sentence of four months.
McRory was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined $2000.
McRory’s appeal will be heard on a date to be fixed and he was released on appeal bail under regular reporting conditions.