SA court lifts suppression orders on Leon Ronald Scarffe who abused, blackmailed victims of online pedophile syndicate

The final member of SA’s sinister online pedophile syndicate has been named, and his victims say there is no punishment big enough for his crimes.

No punishment nor retribution is severe enough for an online pedophile syndicate’s standover man, who blackmailed its child victims, and he “deserves every horror waiting for him”, a court has heard.

For the first time, The Advertiser can reveal the full scope of Leon Ronald Scarffe’s crimes against innocent children, spanning years and encompassing both in-person and online offending.

On Monday, the District Court lifted longstanding suppression orders on Scarffe – a key player in an abuse network that included an HIV+ offender, a state political adviser and a senior public servant.

In her victim impact statement, the mother of a 14-year-old boy abused by Scarffe said there could be no forgiveness for his crimes.

“This monster isn’t worth an ounce of my energy or my time, but my son is and so are all the other innocent people whose lives have been ruined by this excuse of a human,” she said.

“My son was preyed upon, manipulated, damaged and violated in the most horrifying and deplorable of ways … he only had 14 years of life untouched by evil, now the rest of his life will be affected.

“Scarffe’s evil actions have had a wrecking ball effect … there’s no punishment or retribution big enough for what he’s caused … he deserves every horror that is waiting for him.”

Scarffe was arrested by AFP and SA Police detectives from the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team. Picture: Matt Loxton

Scarffe, 53, of Mitchell Park, was arrested by the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team, an AFP/SA Police unit that rescues children from sex offenders.

He pleaded guilty to 12 charges including three counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse.

Scarffe ensured his victims’ silence by telling the children that, if they reported his actions to police, he would send his recordings to their families or publish the material on the internet.

However, he had already shared images and videos of his crimes with his syndicate – Jadd William Brooker, Michael Drennan, Benjamin John Waters and Stewart Iain Berry.

Drennan was jailed for possessing and disseminating child exploitation material, while Waters received a home detention sentence for accessing, transmitting and possessing such material.

Prosecutors have applied to have Brooker – the group’s leader – jailed indefinitely as an uncontrollable sex predator following his guilty pleas to 182 charges.

Berry pleaded guilty to having sexually abused one child and producing exploitation material of others.

His husband, Matthew Campbell, also pleaded guilty to producing child exploitation material, having been investigated as a result of JACET’s inquiries into the syndicate.

Syndicate leader and HIV+ sex offender Jadd William Brooker.

Former SA Labor staffer and syndicate member Benjamin John Waters.

Correctional services manager and syndicate member Stewart Iain Berry, left, and his husband, fellow child abuse offender Mathew Campbell, right, on their wedding day.

On Monday, Scarffe’s victims told the court they feared he would attend their houses, hurt them and their families or vandalise their property if they went to police.

One boy said he feared what would happen if Scarffe were ever released, and that “no child should have to go through court case”.

Another said Scarffe had stolen his innocence and his childhood through both his abuse and intimidation.

“My identity, my family, my relationships, my (sense of) safety, were all useless as Scarffe continued to use me as his toy,” he said.

Scarffe’s earliest victim, who is now an adult, said he struggled with feelings of guilt for not speaking up and “stopping him abusing” the other victims.

Judge Rauf Soulio remanded Scarffe in custody until October, and praised the victims for their bravery.

“I appreciate that it’s a difficult task to commit these thoughts to writing, and that the process can cause the reliving of some of the trauma,” he said.

“I thank you for doing so, it does assist me considerably in the sentencing process.”