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Simon Duncan sent 11 lewd videos and images to an undercover police officer for “titillation”

A churchgoer – who has “confessed their sins” – sent child sexual exploitation material involving children to an undercover police officer for “titillation”.

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A churchgoer who sent sexually explicit images and videos of underage children to an undercover police officer has since “confessed his sins”, a court has heard.

Simon Duncan, 48, appeared in the District Court of South Australia on Tuesday morning charged with multiple counts of disseminating and possessing child exploitation material.

Duncan pleaded guilty to all six counts at a previous hearing in December.

The court heard Duncan began online communications with an undercover police officer in April last year.

They then exchanged phone numbers and began chatting via WhatsApp.

For the prosecution, Azaara Perakath said many of the allegations were “serious sexual offences”.

The court heard between April 20 and May 19 last year, the images and videos were sent to the officer who was “purporting to be a 37-year-old female”.

It included seven video files, three images and one “sexually explicit story”, with some material featuring children as young as five.

“Some of those videos did involve multiple children engaged in sexual acts with adults,” Miss Perakath said.

She said Duncan admitted to accessing the material for “sexual gratification purposes” and was actively seeking out other individuals to share it with.

The court heard Simon Duncan communicated with who he thought was a 37-year-old woman. Picture: Flie.
The court heard Simon Duncan communicated with who he thought was a 37-year-old woman. Picture: Flie.

“The defendant expressed a preferred age range of eight to 12-year-old girls,” she said.

She said he had a desire to send pictures “what gets me hard” and it was not a “one off, isolated incident”.

Duncan was arrested on May 24 last year and has been on bail since.

However, for Duncan, Shane Spence said her client had recently made a “confession at church” which was something he had “struggled with”.

She said the offending was “really out of the ordinary”, over a “very short period” and was at the “lesser scale of offending”.

“He hasn’t kept and catalogued and hoarded this material,” Ms Spence said.

Describing his offending as “short-term possession”, Ms Spence said Duncan would access material and then get rid of it.

“He’s got two images and two videos. Seven items have gone,” she said.

She also said there was “an element of role playing” in his offending and he had contacted what he thought was a “like-minded” adult female and sent material to “titillate”.

However, she also said medical advice indicated the accused’s prospects of rehabilitation were “good”.

“He has the support of his wife, he is in secure employment,” she said.

“She stands in support of him knowing full well what he has pleaded guilty to.”

She also said her client had expressed “genuine remorse” and was “glad” police had discovered what he had done.

He will reappear for sentencing in May.

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/north-northeast/simon-duncan-sent-11-lewd-videos-and-images-to-an-undercover-police-officer-for-titillation/news-story/cb1d1a6bb2aa608c05d0f3c2ef1b71a8