Repeat offender in Gympie District Court

A man has been jailed in Gympie District Court after a judge blasted his “escalation” of offences

A prisoner behind the jail cell bars .

THOMAS James Roadley was already a convicted paedophile when he admitted offering an underage girl $1000 to have sex with him.

And he was aged between 60 and 62 when he committed offences involving girls aged 10 to 13.

Roadley, 64, pleaded guilty in Gympie District Court last week to five offences of indecently treating a child and one of attempting to procure a child for carnal knowledge between January 2016 and March 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to two breaches of bail conditions involving contact with children and 13 of failing to comply with his reporting obligations under child protection legislation.

Those breaches involved personal contact and social media, Judge Gary Long said in his sentencing remarks.

"It frankly beggars belief that, as you told police, you were not aware of your obligations (under the Act and under bail conditions)," Judge Long said.

He said the contact breaches involved about 12 children.

"A distinct aggravating feature is that on April 15, 2011, you were sentenced in this court in relation to two offences of indecent treatment of children under 12," the judge said.

"For those offences you were imprisoned for eight months, suspended for 18 months on one and placed on 18 months' probation on the other.

"Those offences occurred in April 2010 over a period of two weeks, when you were 54 "

One of those two charges involved kissing a child on the lips and the other involved "a cuddle" and touching that made the girl feel uncomfortable enough to inform her mother.

Judge Long said the earlier sentence had reflected "a relatively low level of offending."

But sentencing Roadley again on Friday, he said the court had to deal with repetition of similar offending, worsened considerably by the fact that Roadley was 60 to 62 and the girls were between 10 and 13, in 2016.

In one case, Roadley had offered a girl $5 to let him kiss her.

"She said no, but you kissed her anyway and you gave her the money.

"You told her she would be in trouble if she told her mother."

The conduct escalated when Roadley offered her money to allow him to touch her breasts and in one case offered her $1000 to have sex with him.

Judge Long jailed Roadley for three years, including 286 days already served in pre-sentence custody, with parole eligibility from February 23, by which time he would have served 12 months.

Originally published as Repeat offender in Gympie District Court