Pedophile violently attacked elite SA police officer on Kensington Rd after arrest, court hears

An appalling pedophile molested his own son then brutally attacked a police officer, causing permanent injuries, during a chaotic arrest in heavy Kensington Rd traffic.

A pedophile violently and repeatedly attacked an elite police officer, in a moving vehicle amid heavy traffic, after he was arrested for abusing his own son, a court has heard.

On Tuesday, the District Court heard the eastern suburbs man – whose identity is suppressed – put road users at risk with his “unprovoked” actions on Kensington Rd in September 2021.

He had been apprehended by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET), a combined AFP and SA Police team responsible for some of the biggest busts of the decade.

JACET caught syndicate leader Jadd Brooker, “child collector” Reucha Tokputza and online child abuse originator Geoffrey Moyle.

They also busted the worst sex offender in Australian history, ex-RAAF intelligence operative Jacob Donald Walsh.

On Tuesday, a JACET detective told the court the man turned violent after being placed in the back of a police vehicle, breaking three of the officer’s ribs and causing a permanent disability in his shoulder.

“His attack upon me was totally unprovoked, unnecessarily prolonged, excessive and violent... I will never forget the expression of total rage in his eyes as he repeatedly kicked me,” he said.

A pedophile violently attacked an elite police officer, in a moving vehicle amid heavy eastern suburbs traffic during his arrest. Picture: Generic

“His blows to my body and head were full-force, relentless and occurred in the confines of a police car... as he fully extended his leg and pressed into my neck, I almost lost consciousness.

“The odour of his sock, pressed against my face and nose, has not and never will leave me.”

The man, 26, pleaded guilty to 11 aggravated counts of producing child exploitation material and seven counts of having intercourse with a person under 14 years.

He also pleaded guilty to gross indecency, unlawful sexual intercourse and to assaulting an officer.

The victim of his sexual offending was his seven-year-old son who has both Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.

On Tuesday, the JACET detective told the court that his colleagues could not pull the car over and assist him until traffic abated on Kensington Rd.

He said back-up was called and arrived at high-speed, increasing the potential danger to members of the public caused by the man’s actions.

“I appreciate that, in comparison to his sexual offending, this assault is relatively minor (and) an almost daily occurrence for police officers,” he said.

“But, as an officer with more than 30 years’ experience, I can say officers are fed up with being seriously assaulted in the line of their work.”

Prosecutors asked the court to punish the man for both sets of offending, while defence counsel apologised for their client’s “lack of emotional control”.

Judge Liesl Chapman - who described a written summary of the sexual offending as “harrowing” - remanded the man in custody for sentencing on a date to be set.