Please note: This story contains disturbing details.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A BENDIGO man who used online chat services to abuse young girls has had his bail revoked.
The 26-year-old appeared in the County Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to 12 charges including engaging in sexual activity (not intercourse) with a child outside of Australia and producing child abuse material.
The court heard between July 2017 and October 2019, the man used the online service Google Hangouts to message and video chat with young girls.
Read other court news:
He explicitly told the girls he wanted to sexually abuse children and instructed girls he believed to be underage to perform sexual acts.
The court heard the man sent explicit images of himself on several occasions and ordered the girls to send naked photos of themselves.
On January 3, 2019, the man recorded a video chat he had with a girl believed to be between the ages of six and eight.
The man instructed the girl to take off her clothes. The girl told the man her full address in the United States.
The recorded video of the exchange was saved on the man's phone.
The court heard on another occasion on October 22, 2019, the man was speaking to a different girl via Google Hangouts.
He attempted to hypnotise the child so she would become his "sex slave".
The man instructed her to take off her underwear and send photos of them to him. She also sent through a photo of herself, which showed a girl about 12 years old sitting on a bunk bed.
The court heard on January 8, 2020, the man brought himself forward to police after confiding to an older person about his offending.
He told officers he had owned child abuse material but had deleted the images. He said he started procuring children through chat sites and that he had hypnotised about 15 to 20 girls to be his "sex slaves".
Read other news:
Police searched his phone and computer device on January 8, 2020. There were 32 files of child abuse material on his phone and another 80 files on his desktop computer.
A number of the images and videos showed young girls, including an infant, being sexually abused.
The man was charged and bailed from court on April 1, 2020. He has not spent any time in custody.
Defence counsel Colin Mandy told the court his client had been diagnosed with autism, which would make him vulnerable in jail.
But Mr Mandy submitted there was not a causal connection between the condition and the offending.
The defence counsel tendered four medical reports, which said the man needed anti-libidinal medication prescribed from a psychiatrist to treat his high sex drive.
The defence counsel also said a report from Forensic Care about the man's eligibility for the problem behaviour program could assist the court.
Judge Gavan Meredith said he would need to see that report before the hearing could proceed.
The Judge said the assessment report could be obtained within six weeks if the man was in custody.
Judge Meredith said the man's bail would be revoked as he had pleaded guilty to serious charges.
The man was remanded in custody. He is due to return to court in March for a further plea hearing.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.