Jonathon Henke, convicted child predator, pleads guilty to new charges after second undercover sting

Years in prison didn’t stop him and soon after his release on parole, he reoffended again boasting about the articles revealing his vile past and trying to buy children for sex.

Jonathon Henke spent years behind bars, but that didn’t derail him from offending soon after his release on parole.

Instead, he boasted about the articles revealing his vile past and tried to buy children for sex.

Now he’s back in prison, and on Thursday he confessed to once again falling for an undercover police sting.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday morning, convicted child predator Jonathon David Henke confessed via video link from prison to further offending against children.

The 49-year-old Nuriootpa man was arrested in February after he’d been busted talking to who he thought was the grandmother of two young children online, trying to solicit them for sex.

He was charged with two counts of communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity and one count of producing child exploitation material.

Jonathon Henke was first arrested waiting in a hotel room. Photo: SAPOL

In court documents, SA Police said Henke had a prior conviction “in relation to communication he had with an adult female to attend a motel with a child so he could have sex with the child”.

That adult female was an undercover officer, and Henke was arrested in a motel room with a laptop containing child abuse material in 2020.

In February this year, following his release from prison after serving a custody sentence for that initial offending, Henke had been contacting who he believed was a grandmother with two young grandchildren under the age of five – and offering her $200 for sex with one of them. That “grandmother” turned out to be yet another an undercover officer.

“Communication commenced and the accused stated that he was into ‘mother and daughter with no limits’,” police said.

Police allege he then told the woman graphic details about what he wanted to do with the five-year-old granddaughter.

“In communications (on a second platform) he asks if the five-year-old granddaughter had done things sexually and asked if the adult female was a cop several times,” police allege.

“The accused stated that he hated cops as he had previously been ‘set up’ by them. He stated he had been to jail previously doing four out of six years for just talking and going to a motel.

“He stated that he had the room at his house in Nuriootpa if the child could be taken to the address and discussions were made about meeting on the evening of the 25th of February.

“The accused sent a screenshot of news footage of his previous arrest and also a facial image of himself.”

In court on Thursday, he told Mr Nitschke he was guilty of the three further crimes.

He was remanded in custody and will face the District Court in June where a date for sentencing will be set.