Young girl groomed on Snapchat then sexually abused by Jayden Ramone McKenna tells of horrific impact

A girl has delivered a powerful statement to the older man who sexually abused her at the age of 13, saying she thought she finally had met someone she could trust.

The young victim of a man who groomed her on social media before abusing her over a three-day period last year has told a court of the irreparable emotional damage it has caused her.

Jayden Ramone McKenna, 22, appeared in the District Court on Tuesday as his victim – who was 13 and has an intellectual disability – sat in the body of the court and listened as a prosecutor read her victim-impact statement on her behalf.

The girl – who was in state care during the abuse – detailed the emotional struggles she has faced since the April 2022 offending.

“I thought I had met a friend online, called Jayden, who I could trust – this was not true,” she said.

“I used to think I could trust a lot of people on the internet because I couldn’t trust real people, this is because I didn’t have a good time growing up.

“You made me believe, Jayden, I could trust you … for a second in my life I actually thought I had a friend.

“I am a young girl and I can’t wear a dress because of what you did.”

Jayden McKenna is charged with multiple child sex offences. Photo: Facebook

Jayden McKenna is charged with multiple child sex offences. Photo: Facebook

In November last year McKenna pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with the victim over a three-day period.

The victim impact statement also details the victim’s vulnerability to the offence given her intellectual disability.

“At the time of the incident, I was 13 years old but my social worker tells me that my brain was like a little kid’s and I can’t understand I was putting myself in Jayden,” she said.

“You are older than me and I thought you had my back.

“I thought you would protect me and I finally had someone I could tell private things to.”

The court previously heard McKenna groomed the girl on Snapchat before inviting her to his house and sexually abusing her over three days from April 30 last year.

Defence lawyer Tricia Johnson, for McKenna, said her client’s intellectual disabilities do not make him an appropriate candidate for imprisonment.

“There’s simply no evidence to suggest that he has a sexual interest in children, rather, in my submission, this matter involves two vulnerable young people, who had consensual sex.”

McKenna will be sentenced in the District Court later this week.