- Brisbane couple groomed child for sex over internet
- By Christine Flatley
- The Herald Sun
- 18/11/2008 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 264 articles in 2008 )
A COUPLE have been given jail terms after they admitted using the internet to groom a 12-year-old girl for sex.
But their plan to pay the child for sex and photograph the act came unstuck when they went to meet her at a McDonald's restaurant and realised they'd been caught in a police sting.
Damian John Geyer, 33, and his fiancee Ashlea Kym Rutherford, 22, both pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to charges arising from online dealings with a police officer posing as a 12-year-old.
Geyer admitted using a carriage service to procure a child for sex, using the internet to expose a child to indecent matter and possessing child exploitation material.
Justice Peter Dutney sentenced him to three years' jail, and ordered that he serve 10 months before he is released on a good behaviour bond.
Rutherford pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to procure a child for sex and possessing child exploitation material.
She was sentenced to two years' jail but was released immediately on a good behaviour bond after the court was told she had Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism, and had been easily influenced by Geyer.
Geyer was caught in January last year when he arrived for a prearranged meeting with the girl at McDonald's at Milton, in Brisbane's inner west, only to find police waiting for him.
Rutherford, who was living with Geyer in the Brisbane suburb of Auchenflower at the time, was arrested later after it was revealed she had also been involved in the plot.
The court was told that Geyer had chatted online with the "girl" for about a week leading up to the meeting.
He offered her $150 to have sex with him, and told her Rutherford would photograph the act.
He also offered the girl $50 on a regular basis for posing for nude photographs, and sent videos of himself masturbating to her.
Prosecutor Anthony Gett said Rutherford contacted the girl on the morning of the meeting to confirm she was still ready to proceed, and told her to "look after" Geyer.
Mr Gett described the behaviour by both as "premeditated and calculated" but he accepted Rutherford had played a lesser role in the crime.
But their plan to pay the child for sex and photograph the act came unstuck when they went to meet her at a McDonald's restaurant and realised they'd been caught in a police sting.
Damian John Geyer, 33, and his fiancee Ashlea Kym Rutherford, 22, both pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to charges arising from online dealings with a police officer posing as a 12-year-old.
Geyer admitted using a carriage service to procure a child for sex, using the internet to expose a child to indecent matter and possessing child exploitation material.
Justice Peter Dutney sentenced him to three years' jail, and ordered that he serve 10 months before he is released on a good behaviour bond.
Rutherford pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to procure a child for sex and possessing child exploitation material.
She was sentenced to two years' jail but was released immediately on a good behaviour bond after the court was told she had Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism, and had been easily influenced by Geyer.
Geyer was caught in January last year when he arrived for a prearranged meeting with the girl at McDonald's at Milton, in Brisbane's inner west, only to find police waiting for him.
Rutherford, who was living with Geyer in the Brisbane suburb of Auchenflower at the time, was arrested later after it was revealed she had also been involved in the plot.
The court was told that Geyer had chatted online with the "girl" for about a week leading up to the meeting.
He offered her $150 to have sex with him, and told her Rutherford would photograph the act.
He also offered the girl $50 on a regular basis for posing for nude photographs, and sent videos of himself masturbating to her.
Prosecutor Anthony Gett said Rutherford contacted the girl on the morning of the meeting to confirm she was still ready to proceed, and told her to "look after" Geyer.
Mr Gett described the behaviour by both as "premeditated and calculated" but he accepted Rutherford had played a lesser role in the crime.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24663706-5005961,00.html
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