Notorious HIV-positive pedophile Jadd Brooker charged with 142 more child sex crimes
A predator with HIV has been accused of a further 142 crimes – the highest number of child sex charges filed against a single defendant in Australian legal history.
Police & Courts
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HIV-positive sex predator Jadd William Brooker has been charged with a further 142 offences against children following investigations by SA’s anti child abuse task force.
The Advertiser can reveal Brooker was rearrested in his prison cell on Tuesday by detectives from SA Police and the AFP’s Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team.
He appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Brooker now faces a total of 180 charges – understood to be the highest number of child sex charges filed against a single defendant in Australian legal history.
The nation’s highest sentence for child abuse crimes was set by another South Australian pedophile – Ruecha Tokputza, known as “the child collector”, who was jailed in 2019 for 40 years with a non-parole period of 28 years after pleading guilty to 51 charges.
The majority of the new charges – almost 100 counts – are allegations Brooker used the internet to groom children for sex.
The next-largest category of charges are allegations he disseminated child exploitation material online.
Brooker has also been charged with new counts of obtaining and possessing child exploitation material, including of children under the age of 14 years.
The most serious allegations are four counts of having maintained an unlawful sexual relationship with a child.
JACET alleges Brooker pursued four SA children online, having “prolonged conversations” with some physical contact with others.
In total, JACET alleges Brooker has offended against six “contact victims” within Australia.
He has previously pleaded guilty to offences against two children – a boy in NSW and a teenager who subsequently took his own life.
Brooker, 38, of Glenelg East, has already pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to having committed 38 child abuse and child sex crimes over a six-year period.
They arise from the same investigation, and he has yet to be sentenced for those offences.
He confessed to those crimes in three stages, earning substantial sentencing discounts for his pleas each time.
Previously, the court has heard Brooker expressed his intention to infect adults and children with HIV and filmed himself attempting to do so, meaning a victim had to be tested.
Prosecutors alleged he had committed “category five” crimes – involving acts such as coerced bondage, sadism, torture or bestiality – against six children and teenagers.
They also alleged the 4.5 million files of child abuse material on Brooker’s electronic devices could link him to pedophiles in Australia and around the world.
That data led to charges being filed against several other men.
Ex-Labor staffer Ben Waters has pleaded guilty to downloading and transmitting child exploitation material and will face the District Court on Friday.
Former barista Michael Drennan is already serving a prison term for his role in the alleged network.
He was remanded in custody to face court again in November.
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