Benjamin Clarke jailed for grooming 13-year-old on Kik and sharing child exploitation material

A tradie insisted he has no interest in having sex with children, despite sending a “13-year-old girl” vile videos and saying hooking up with her would be worth going to jail for.

A predator who believed he was chatting to a 13-year-old girl online said hooking up with her would be worth going to jail for.

Benjamin James Clarke, 38, told a psychologist he had no interest in having sex with children, despite sending one vile videos.

The Adelaide District Court heard Clarke began communicating with an undercover police officer on Kik in December 2019.

The court heard the officer told Clarke she was 13 while Clarke told her he was 30 and suggested that they could hang out so he could find out if she was a good kisser.

The officer contacted Clarke on January 4, 2020 and asked what he was doing.

“You told her she was welcome to come to your place to hang out,” Judge Schammer said during sentencing.

“You told her you were very good with your hands, that you were a good kisser and that you could teach her a few things.

“You told her that you could go to jail for hooking up with her because she was so young but that it would be worth it.”

Clarke then sent the undercover officer a sexually explicit video on January 6, 2020 and discussed meeting up with her on the weekend.

Police attended Clarke’s house on January 30, 2020 and seized his phone.

They found a conversation between Clarke had sent another Kik user, who identified herself as 14, sexually explicit photographs and engaged in sexualised conversation with her.

Police also found Clarke had been sharing and receiving child exploitation material with other Kik users.

Benjamin Clarke was jailed for child sex offences. Photo: Facebook

Clarke, of Salisbury Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of communicating with the intention of making a child amenable to sexual activity and possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.

“You admitted engaging in the conversations with the operative but said you thought the conversations were just a game and that what you were doing was just a fantasy that you would never act upon,” Judge Schammer said.

The court heard Clarke, who worked as an engine reconditioner, said he regretted his actions and would never be a threat to anyone.

“You did acknowledge that by your conduct you had acted like a predator and said that you ‘did not want to lead somebody along the wrong life choices and path’,” Judge Schammer said.

The court heard Clarke turned to drinking excessively after the death of his father in 2015 and said he was seeking validation.

Clarke told a psychologist he was not a paedophile as he had no interest in having sex with children.

However, the psychologist expressed the opinion that Clarke satisfied the criteria for a paedophilic disorder.

“Further, notwithstanding your claim not to have any sexual interest in children, your offending contradicts this,” Judge Schammer said.

She sentenced Clarke to two years and two months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and eight months.