Andrew Steele jailed for 15 years for horrific child sex offending

The crimes of a vile SA pedophile, who exploited a Filipino family’s poverty, have been revealed in court – as he was hit with a hefty jail term.

A vile pedophile has been hit with a 15-year jail term after he exploited a Filipino family’s poverty for his own deviant urges.

Andrew Donald Steele horrifically abused a young girl over several years, all while hiding his perverted fantasies from his family.

Steele, 65, of Yankalilla, pleaded guilty to multiple child sex offences perpetrated upon a girl outside of Australia, and to possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.

Between 2018 and 2023, Steele offended in three countries – Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia – against the same girl, both in person and via the internet.

During sentencing on Friday, the District Court heard Steele began trawling the internet and overseas dating sites, such as Filipino Cupid after the sexual intimacy ended in his marriage.

Andrew Donald Steele was jailed for 15 years on Friday. Picture: Facebook

“Disturbingly you also developed an appetite for child abuse material,” Judge Paul Muscat said.

Steele connected with a woman in the Philippines, who had two young daughters, aged nine and five.

In 2018, Steele planned a trip to the Philippines, which Judge Muscat said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that it was for the purpose of him seeking to engage in sexual activity with the nine-year-old girl.

The court heard Steele sexually abused the girl while in the Philippines, while her younger sister watched.

After Steele returned to Australia he continued to engage in numerous sexually explicit video calls with the victim.

He paid the victim’s mother as little as $115, or covered the cost of a mobile phone bill, to have the girl available to be abused at his whim.

Andrew Donald Steele arrested at Yankalilla. Picture: AFP

Steele was arrested by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team, which triggered a widespread international investigation.

The girl was rescued from alleged sexual slavery, with her mother the first to be arrested.

Police searched Steele’s devices and found 12,470 images and 126 videos of child abuse material.

The court heard communications were found between Steele and another woman he met through Filipino Cupid.

Judge Muscat said the communications – in which Steele discussed abusing children – were so “revolting, depraved and graphic” he would not repeat them in his remarks.

The court heard a psychologist determined Steele had a long standing sexual interest in children and diagnosed him with pedophilic disorder, which he now accepted.

Judge Muscat said Steele exploited the family’s poverty to facilitate his deviant behaviour.

“You corrupted her mother so that you could sexually abuse her daughter,” he said.

“It is notorious that Filipino children are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse by adult foreigners, both in person and online.”

Steele was sentenced to 15 years jail, with a non-parole period of nine years.

The sentence was backdated to May 31, 2023.