*Reader discretion is advised A Wangaratta man is facing jail time after admitting to sending sexually explicit messages and images to a person he was told was 14 years old on Snapchat. The 39-year-old appeared at Melbourne County Court on Wednesday to plead guilty to two charges of using a carriage service to solicit and transmit child abuse material. The court heard on 22 July 2024, undercover operatives operating an account under the name ‘Josh’ – said to be a 14-year-old boy from Hawthorn - added the accused on Snapchat. The pair began communicating, with the accused being told that Josh was 14 years old. On 29 July the accused began sending indecent messages to Josh, saying he was on the app for “naughty things… like penis” and telling him he was cute. In September the accused sent an image of a wooden door with a round hole in the centre, and explained it to Josh as a “glory hole”. After being asked who can go to the glory hole, the accused said anyone, and “no one will know how old you are”. He sent several lewd images of himself to Josh, including photographs showing the base of his penis, himself in his underwear, and grabbing his crotch over his jeans. The court heard the accused made repeated requests to see Josh’s underwear and to see a video of Josh masturbating, telling him “it was hot”. After making the requests the accused was told Josh was shy and he had not done anything like that before. He told Josh he could trust him and said he would “show him mine if you show me yours”. The conversation between the pair ended on 14 October, the same day the accused engaged in conversation with another person on Snapchat. They exchanged several lewd messages and the accused referred to discussing the person “having sex with a 15-year-old child”. The man was arrested and charged following a search at his home on 15 October 2024 by Wangaratta SOCIT members with assistance from the specialised JACET unit. At the time he denied knowing how old Josh was or that there was any discussion about his age. He told police that when he is engaged in sexualised chat, he “blacks out” because of the situation within his marriage. Defence counsel Tim McCulloch said his client’s life was upended after his arrest, after his wife ended their relationship and asked him to leave the family home, and he resigned from his employment. But Mr McCulloch said the man had found support from a new partner and his parents, who were all present in court, and had been deemed a low risk of re-offending due to long term treatment following the offending. “The community has little to gain if he goes to prison and a lot to lose,” he said. Crown prosecutor Ben Kerlin said the knowledge of the purported victim being under 16 was a serious matter and the nature of asking for a video of a child masturbating was significant. Judge Michael Cahill noted both parties had made a “realistic” submission that prison time would likely be served. Judge Cahill adjourned his sentence to Friday 13 November. The 39-year-old had not spent any time in custody for the offending and had his bail extended. The court heard he would be listed as a sex offender for life.
