'Depraved, sustained and disturbing': Man allegedly posed as music teacher while abusing child

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to childhood sexual abuse.

A Macgregor man allegedly called himself a “pedo” in messages sent to a child he raped and coached on how to hide their contact.

The alleged victim believes the two people are in a relationship, the court heard, and that they will marry once she is “of legal age”.

The 32-year-old man, whom Region has chosen not to name to protect the alleged victim’s identity, appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday (30 August).

He has been charged with grooming a young person, having sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years and possessing child exploitation material, although the court heard there may be more charges laid.

Police also allege that he abused the child earlier in the week at his home before his arrest and that he also shared child exploitation material with the victim.

In court, his defence lawyer proposed several “strict and stringent” bail conditions, such as her client not being in the presence of a child without an adult, having a curfew and having limited access to social media.

The man also has a chronic pain disorder, which she argued would “not be managed” in custody at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

His lawyer said that his only criminal history involved two driving charges dating to 2018 and that he was cooperating with police.

The prosecutor argued the court shouldn’t put weight on his limited criminal history, however.

The messages he allegedly sent to the victim were “depraved, sustained and disturbing”, such as when he allegedly “joked” about adopting her.

She said the man was “well aware of the illegality” of his behaviour and that grooming “necessarily entails insidious behaviour by its very nature”.

The alleged offender took steps to “actively aid” the alleged victim in hiding their interactions, such as allegedly telling her to tell her parents he was a music teacher so he could visit her home with a “supposedly legitimate veil”, the prosecutor said.

Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker refused bail, saying the alleged conduct and the decisions to help his alleged victim hide it from her parents were a concern.

The alleged victim was “clearly protective” of the charged man, said Chief Magistrate Walker, who added the court saw a “very significant risk” to her safety.

“The concerns that the court has really revolve around the young person,” she said.

The 32-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on 19 September.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.

You can report a sexual assault by attending an ACT Policing station in person, calling triple zero in an emergency or 131 444 for police assistance, or online if the sexual assault occurred more than six months ago.