Man who paid 14-year-old girl for sex handed years in jail

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.

A man who admitted paying a 14-year-old girl a few hundred dollars to have sex with him in Queanbeyan has been handed years in jail.

Mark Roldan Robles Viray, 38, was sentenced to two years and three months’ jail by the NSW District Court on Friday (1 December), with a non-parole period of one year and four months.

He appeared over audio-visual link from custody to hear Judge Tanya Bright describe what he had done as “reprehensible” conduct by an adult towards a child.

The judge said Viray had never met his victim before until she added him over the social media application Snapchat in 2021.

She agreed to meet him for sex, telling him she was only 14. He told her he was 19 at first, then changed his mind and told her he was 23, even though he was actually 35.

The pair arranged to meet at Lanyon Marketplace in southern Canberra, where he withdrew $200 in cash, and then they went back to his car.

She told him she wasn’t sure she wanted to have sex but eventually agreed to oral sex. They got into the car, and Viray told her he would drive her to a home so they could have sex.

She again told him she wasn’t sure she wanted to, but he offered her $300, and she agreed.

Viray drove her to his home in Queanbeyan, where they had oral sex and intercourse.

He dropped her back at the marketplace, withdrew an extra $100, paid her and then he went home.

A week later, the victim told her mother about what happened. They worked out where Viray’s home was, took photos of it and then reported the matter to police.

Viray was arrested in November 2022. While he pleaded guilty, according to a court report, he “minimised his conduct in reflections about his offending”.

He had told the report author he “only found out about [the girl’s] age when it was too late”.

The report also contained statements such as “he was looking for a sex worker and when sex was offered [he] continued despite her age”, and while he knew the victim’s age, he decided to continue “because of his sexual desire, and because she doesn’t look 14”.

The prosecutor slammed his comments about her age.

“It doesn’t matter how she looks or presents or appears,” she said.

“He knew her age and continued.”

He pleaded guilty in the Queanbeyan District Court earlier this year. His charge was act as a client with a child aged between 14 to 18 in prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ jail.

He received a 25 per cent discount on his sentence due to his plea.

He had already spent almost one year and one month in custody by the time he was sentenced.

As his sentence was backdated to account for time served, he will be released from custody on parole in March 2024.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact:

Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978.