South Australian child sex offenders and groomers to go through court in 2021
There are a shocking 2085 convicted child sex offenders currently subject to reporting obligations in SA. We reveal some of the state’s worst.
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They came from all walks of life – school teachers, state opera directors, trusted community members – and they all preyed on our most innocent with devious crimes.
With 2085 convicted child sex offenders currently subject to reporting obligations in South Australia and dark web platforms significantly increasing, child abusers have more opportunities than ever to prey on the vulnerable.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Lambert, officer in charge of Special Crimes Investigation Section said children were accessing the internet at a very young age, often unsupervised and spend long hours using electronic devices.
“There is a normalisation of sexual behaviour online which is also changing young people’s attitude towards sharing explicit content with each other,” he said.
“An ‘online groomer’ who has gained the trust of the child by pretending to be a peer and using fake identities, can quickly gain exploitative imagery by manipulation, and move to further exploiting and blackmailing the victim.”
Insp Lambert said law enforcement officers across the world had a presence online to identify and track offenders.
“Law enforcement agencies remain at the forefront of technology to gain any advantage, networking across the world to enhance the abilities to identify child victims,” he said.
Insp Lambert said children could stay safe online by only accepting ‘friend’ requests from people they know in real life, avoiding sharing private information and never agreeing to meet someone they’ve only known online on their own.
Here are the evil faces of SA’s child sex offenders and groomers who went through the courts in 2021.
Renee Underwood
A Riverland teacher left her victim’s parents with “overwhelming guilt” for trusting her, after she groomed their 14-year-old son for sex.
Renee Jade Underwood, 34, wept as she was jailed in the Adelaide District Court, for exploiting her position of power to meet her own emotional needs.
The court heard Underwood, who was married at the time, was teaching at a Riverland school when she met the 14-year-old student and told him on Snapchat she had developed feelings for him.
“You admitted to him that you were having sexual thoughts and that you wanted to engage in sexual activity with him,” Judge Schammer said.
The court heard Underwood explained the sexual acts she wanted to do with the student.
“You sent the complainant a photograph depicting your partially exposed breasts, you prompted him to send a revealing photograph of himself in exchange,” Judge Schammer said.
The court heard Underwood also drove the victim home from school, despite it being against school policy.
Judge Schammer sentenced Underwood to one year and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of eight months.
Jordan Vuglar
A man who impregnated a 14-year-old then attempted to also prey on her much younger sister after he said he liked “really young girls”.
Jordan Brian Lee Vuglar, 28, was jailed for over five years in the Adelaide District Court after he produced “graphic and horrifying” child exploitation material about a six-year-old.
The court heard Vuglar befriended a 14-year-old girl who was living in Ingham, Queensland at the time.
“Within a week of commencing these communications you offered to purchase her a plane ticket to Adelaide,” Judge Geraldine Davison said during sentencing.
The court heard the victim accepted and met Vuglar in Adelaide.
“She gave evidence that following her arrival in Adelaide you commenced a sexual relationship with her,” Judge Davison said.
“She subsequently became pregnant … she gave birth to a child in June 2018.”
The court heard Vuglar was not charged for that sexual abuse.
In June 2018, Vuglar attempted to procure the girl’s younger sister – who was aged six at the time – for sexual activity.
Vuglar was found guilty of communicating to procure a child for sexual activity at trial.
He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child exploitation material.
Judge Davison sentenced Vuglar to five years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of four years and seven months.
The sentence was backdated to August 15, 2018, when he was first taken into custody.
James Moss
A construction worker who believed he was chatting to a 13-year-old girl online and made vile sexual suggestions has been jailed, still insisting he is not attracted to children.
James Sebastian Moss, 28, was visibly distraught in the Adelaide District Court as he was sent to prison for his predatory behaviour.
The court heard Moss started a conversation with a covert police officer on Kik, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl in a group called “adult teens”.
“During the conversation you made reference to the size of your penis and how she would not be disappointed,” Judge Joanne Tracey said during sentencing.
The court heard Moss offered to pick the girl up from school on another occasion.
“You discussed various sexual activities, clearly indicating that you wanted to engage in them with her,” Judge Tracey said.
Moss, of Payneham, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity.
Moss was sentenced to one year and two months in jail, with a non-parole period of 11 months.
Craig Warner
A paedophile sexually abused six boys over a 12-year period grossly betrayed the trust of his victims and their families, a court was told.
Craig Anthony Warner, 41, robbed many boys of their childhood, to fulfil his own “sick and twisted” needs, the Adelaide District Court heard.
A prosecutor told the court that there were six victims, who Warner sexually abused between 2006 and 2018, in Whyalla and Mawson Lakes.
The court heard the offending had had a significant impact on victims and their families, as Warner would regularly take the boys to school or help them with their homework.
“Three of the five charges of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship involve more than one act of fellatio,” the prosecutor said.
Warner, of Parafield Gardens, has pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and indecent assault.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
Wesley Harrop
A predator who believed he was talking to a 14-year-old girl online had a “highly sexualised” conversation with her.
Wesley Owen Harrop, 41, avoided a jail sentence in the Adelaide District Court after he inappropriately used a messaging app as a form of “escapism”.
The court heard Harrop used a fake profile name on the Kik app and started talking to an undercover police officer on June 28, 2019.
“A police officer communicated to you that she was a 14-year-old girl,” Judge Rauf Soulio said during sentencing.
“You engaged in a highly sexualised conversation with the police officer … including requesting nude photographs of her, asking intimate sexual questions of her and making graphic sexual suggestions to her.”
Harrop, of Dernancourt, had previously pleaded guilty to communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity.
Judge Soulio sentenced Harrop to a two-year good behaviour bond of $2000, with supervision conditions.
A conviction was recorded.
Brendan Rivers-Kennedy
She survived the worst betrayal a child can endure – now Jennifer Samson is using her painful experience to fuel her empathy and passion to help others in need.
After years of legally-enforced silence, Ms Samson confronted her abuser and brother-in-law, Brendan Joel Rivers-Kennedy, in the District Court.
Rivers-Kennedy, 28, of Mawson Lakes, pleaded guilty – on the morning of his scheduled trial – to one count of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child.
He assumed a brotherly role in Ms Samson’s life when she was a teenager and, after promising to help her cope with mental health issues, repeatedly abused her.
In her statement, Ms Samson – who gave The Advertiser permission to identify her – said Rivers-Kennedy had taken away “any sense of innocence I had”.
Judge Ian Press sentenced Rivers-Kennedy to almost five years jail, ordering he serve at least two and a half years behind bars.
Tyson Martino
A man blamed his meth addiction for his abhorrent crimes, while still denying he has a sexual interest in children.
Tyson Martino, 25, was jailed in the Adelaide District Court for multiple offences, including attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old girl.
The court heard Martino began communicating with an undercover police officer posing as a person interested in young girls in February 2018.
“The profile of your email account stated ‘I’m 21 I like girls and boys a few years younger – 13 and up’,” Judge Ian Press said during sentencing.
The court heard Martino sent the undercover police officer child exploitation material and requested something in return.
The court heard the undercover officer was also posing as a 14-year-old girl, who Martino communicated with and sent her a graphic photo of himself.
“You also requested and encouraged sexually explicit photographs to be sent to you in return,” Judge Press said.
Martino, of Taperoo, had previously pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including possessing and disseminating child exploitation material and communicating with a child for a prurient purpose.
Judge Press sentenced Martino to two years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of one year and 10 months.
The sentence was backdated to December 17.
Kieran Bourke
A man who sent sexualised messages to a 13-year-old schoolgirl claims it was just an “online sexual fantasy”.
Kieran John Bourke, 41, was jailed in the Adelaide District Court, for grooming the child online for his own sexual gratification.
The court heard Bourke initiated a conversation on the Kik platform with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on April 12, last year at Port Lincoln.
“You did not know you were really communicating with an undercover police officer,” Judge Karen Thomas said during sentencing.
“Over the following two weeks, you gradually increased the sexual nature of your messages and asked the complainant for photographs of herself.”
The court heard Bourke offered the victim pornographic videos and sent her sexualised GIFs, saying he wanted to do those sexual things to her.
“You sent further sexualised messages to your ‘sexy young schoolgirl’, as you called her,” Judge Thomas said.
Judge Thomas sentenced Bourke to one year and eight months jail, with a non-parole period of 13 months.
Richard Squires
A man who lured a “particularly vulnerable” boy from state care via a dating app – and deceived those looking after him – has been jailed for four and a half years.
Richard Ian Squires, 39, met the boy, who initially claimed to be an adult, on Grindr last year.
The pair spoke for the first time in January this year, when the boy informed Squires he was still underage and, before any sexual activity occurred, that he was under the care of the department for child protection.
District Court Judge Adam Kimber jailed Squires for the offending, which he said was aggravated because Squires knew of the victim’s age and care status before any sexual activity occurred.
In May, Squires contacted the victim via a messaging app seeking sexual activity, gave the boy his address and arranged an Uber to take him there.
Judge Kimber said the boy and Squires spent the night together, before a social worker contacted the boy because he was not at home.
Squires was jailed for four and a half years, with a non-parole period of two years.
Christopher Stain
An inadequate sentence handed to a paedophile teacher who abused a 13-year-old student for more than a year shows a need for judges to be better educated about the long-term effects of abuse on child victims, South Australia’s top court ruled.
Christopher Wright Stain, 67, was initially sentenced to three years, 10 months and 25 days in prison with a non-parole period of 14 months for maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child in the 1980s.
The Court of Appeal unanimously agreed to increase Stain’s head sentence to six years and more than double his non-parole period to three and a half years.
Stain was working as a teacher at a regional school when he met the victim in the early 1980s, when she was only 12.
He started a Bible study group at his home on Friday nights and invited the victim.
Over more than a year, Stain groomed the victim and started a sexual relationship, which only ended when the girl wrote him a letter begging him to leave her alone.
Stain will be eligible for parole in late 2024 when he will be 70.
Joshua Ciardiello
A farmhand initially denied having sex with a child in a park after he convinced her to meet up with him.
Joshua James Ciardiello, 25, now realises his actions had a significant impact on his victim who now finds it harder to trust people.
The Adelaide District Court heard that Ciardiello met the victim, who was aged 14 at the time.
The court heard the conversations included some sexual talk and sexually explicit photographs being exchanged.
The victim agreed to meet Ciardiello on March 8, 2015 at Clare.
The court heard Ciardiello then had sexual intercourse with the victim twice.
Ciardiello, of Salisbury East, had previously pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse.
Chief Judge Michael Evans sentenced Ciardiello to 19 months jail, with a non-parole period of 10 months.
The sentence was suspended on a two-and-a-half year good behaviour bond, with supervision for 18 months, due to Ciardiello’s young age at the time of the offending and his remorse.
Timothy Sexton
Fallen arts identity and convicted paedophile Timothy Sexton is “an astounding narcissist”, a “weak human being” and “conceited, self-opinionated, cruel-hearted” predator, a court heard.
Sexton groomed and sexually abused two teenage girls and manipulated them into believing they had seduced him.
His eventual victims met Sexton separately, in the 1980s, but through the same medium – his work as a singing teacher – and were immediately infatuated.
Tragically his little gifts, flirtatious comments, nickname for his penis and making each girl feel “adult” worked, leaving them vulnerable to repeated abuse.
Sexton is the State Opera’s former director – he stood down one month after charges were filed in 2017.
He pleaded not guilty to 17 sex offences arising from acts against three female students, across seven suburbs, over a four-year period.
Jurors rejected Sexton’s evidence and found him guilty, prompting him to file an appeal.
In July, the District Court jailed Sexton, 60, for a near-record 14 years.
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