Parent nightmare: Queensland man guilty of 98 child sex crimes, corrupting and abusing children online through Snapchat
The terrifying and simple way a regional Queensland pedophile targeted countless children through social media was heard in court.
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The extent of a regional Queensland pedophile’s depravity and “evil fantasies” were laid bare in court when the Snapchat predator pleaded guilty to 98 grooming and child abuse material offences.
The Darling Downs man, Scott William James Boyd, groomed an unknown number of children online over a year-and-a-half period, during of which he wrote abhorrent child abuse material and encouraged adults to abuse children.
During his sentence before the Toowoomba District Court on Tuesday, March 23, the Crown said the 54-year-old used social media to corrupt, solicit, and groom children online while on a suspended jail term and probation order for similar offending.
Boyd was placed on the community based orders in December 2020, after he was caught sending a picture of his penis and sexualised messages to a ‘15-year-old’ who was an undercover police officer.
The court heard that for about 18 months during 2022 and 2023 Boyd used Snapchat to contact 97 people, most of whom were children.
Online, the 54-year-old referred to himself as an adult man who liked to do things to “young bodies,” boys and girls, who were “the younger the better”.
The Crown said it is unknown how many children, aged between four and 15, Boyd successfully engaged with.
The most serious charges related to incidents with a 12-year-old girl who lived in South Australia.
The court heard Boyd groomed the girl, eventually gaining her trust and thus soliciting her to carry out acts on camera for him, which included sodomy.
Police found sexualised photos of the child in underwear on his phone.
The court heard at some point during the 19-day offending period, Boyd told the girl, “you belong to me now”.
He encouraged the child to get her sister involved, telling her the other child was “missing out,” and also tried to get the girl into bed with her mother.
The court heard Boyd told the girl he would drive to SA to have sex with her in a hotel room, and that she would then be the third youngest child he would have been with.
He alleged the youngest child he abused was 10-years-old.
Crown prosecutor Hamish McIntyre said when the child’s mother realised her daughter was speaking to a man online, she went to the police, which was the catalyst that uncovered the extent of the offending.
When Toowoomba police spoke to Boyd about the SA child on September 21, 2023, Mr McIntyre said Boyd lied and said the girl was “leading him on” and had “baited” him into thinking she was 17.
The former Riverina Stockfeeds yardman was charged and released on bail, however he had also supplied police with the passcode to his phone.
Mr McIntyre said that although Boyd largely targeted children, he also engaged in highly sexualised conversations about children with other like-minded people, and solicited the adults to abuse children in their care.
Overall, Mr McIntyre said Boyd’s behaviour was “incredibly concerning,” noting on two occasions Boyd penned accounts of child abuse with such “graphic detail” that it amounted to two charges of making child exploitation material.
Barrister Tristan Carlos said 46 charges of using the internet to procure a child, related to instances where he got no response from the children, and 21 charges related to brief interactions.
Mr Carlos conceded Boyd was not forthright about the crimes with police, but noted he handed over the pin to his phone without a quarrel, which aided the investigation and resulted in a plethora of charges.
The court heard Boyd had difficulties maintaining relationships and had a lengthy employment history despite his learning difficulties.
Mr Carlos said Boyd and his wife of six years had no children together, noting he was ashamed when his conduct was brought to her attention.
The woman was present in court during the sentence in support of Boyd.
Judge Benedict Power KC said Boyd was lucky to have her support as it would be something the parole board would take into consideration.
Judge Power said Boyd’s release on parole may be an impossible feat if he continued to refuse to participate in sex offender programs.
He said the offending was disturbing and very serious, and would have been extremely damaging to the 12-year-old’s emotional and sexual development.
“You were in conversation with people… that shared your sexual interest in children,” he said.
“Those conversations are disturbing, they are serious because they serve to normalise sexual interest in children and may serve to encourage adults to commit offences against children.”
“I hope that those other people conducting evil fantasies (were not), but whether or not these were extremely serious offences.”
He said a significant number of children were contacted by Boyd in a way that would have been “frightening and potentially corrupting”.
“This (sexual interest in children) is something you need to deal with,” he said.
“You denied that you were a pedophile, denied that you were grooming children, that shows a complete lack of insight.”
Boyd was sentenced to a six-year jail term, with a requirement to serve two years before being eligible to apply for parole.
The 531 days Boyd spent in custody was declared as time served.
His release will be up to the parole board.
The 98 child sex offences Boyd pleaded guilty to were largely using the internet to procure a child under 16 and 12, and grooming a child under the age of 16, and a handful of charges related to making child abuse material, and possessing child abuse material.
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Originally published as Parent nightmare: Queensland man guilty of 98 child sex crimes, corrupting and abusing children online through Snapchat
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