James Moss chatted to an underage girl online through Kik with intention to meet

A construction worker with a meth problem groomed an underage girl via a popular messaging app, asking her to meet up and offering to pick her up from school.

A construction worker who groomed an underage girl online and suggested to meet up multiple times has had his lawyer push for no jail time.

James Sebastian Moss, 28, will learn his fate next month after a drug habit and downward spiral led to him making poor decisions.

The Adelaide District Court on Tuesday heard Moss had used the messaging app, Kik between October and November, 2019 to engage in conversations with an underage girl.

A prosecutor told the court that Moss had made attempts to initiate face-to-face meetings.

“That intent is not only in the final conversation where explicit arrangements were made to have the child attend at the address but from even the earlier conversations in October, 2019,” the prosecutor said.

“There’s reference to comments by the defendant asking the complainant to leave school at lunch, indicating the house is empty.

“Again during the conversation in November, 2019 … the defendant offers to collect the complainant – or who he believes is the child – from school, asking her when her mother gets home, trying to determine if there’s time in the day to meet up.”

The prosecutor told the court that the only appropriate sentence was for Moss to be jailed.

“Prosecution accepts that Mr Moss has made some steps in terms of his rehabilitation, in particular addressing his drug use which was one of the factors contributing to the offending,” the prosecutor said.

James Moss will be sentenced next month for communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity. Photo: Facebook

Moss, of Payneham, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity.

Nick Vadasz, for Moss, told the court that the meeting Moss arranged with the underage girl never went ahead as he had no intention of showing up.

The court heard police attended the Payneham address where the meeting was due to take place, before finding Moss asleep at another address.

“The issues that James Moss is facing were rooted through his anxieties, which were alleviated by the use of methamphetamine,” Mr Vadasz said.

“The amphetamine heightened his sexuality.”

The court heard Moss went on a downward spiral after losing his father and his former partner, as well as not achieving goals he had set himself.

“He had expectations as a footballer and those were thwarted by injury,” Mr Vadasz said.

Mr Vadasz told the court Moss was now in a stable relationship and was working for a construction company.

Judge Joanne Tracey said it was concerning that a psychiatrist’s report had described Moss’ actions as “premeditated, involved planning and he was grooming the victim by giving her positive social attention”.

“He clearly knew what he was doing … his offending was clearly motivated by sexual self-gratification,” the report read.

Mr Vadasz pushed for a good-behaviour bond, taking into account that Moss had no prior criminal history and the fact he never attended the meeting.

Judge Tracey adjourned the sentencing until next month.