Nicholas Lawrence George Collis filmed himself have sex with a teenager in Western Downs

A man who convinced a young girl to travel 480kms to Central Queensland to have sex with her later told her she was ugly and needed to eat more. Read more here.

A man who filmed himself having sex with a 13-year-old girl he had convinced to travel 480 kilometres to Central Queensland told the child, who believed they were a couple, that she was ugly and needed to eat more.

Nicholas Lawrence George Collis, 23, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on August 23 to one count of making child exploitation material, two of carnal knowledge and one of using electronic communication to procure a child.

He was on probation at the time for drug offences and had a five-page criminal record.

Crown prosecutor Maryam Yousufzai said police searched Collis’s residence in November, six days after the child travelled to Rockhampton in November 2021, and found not only the teen, but also evidence on Collis’s phone the pair had sex twice.

The court heard the man and the child met each other in May 2021 in a Western Downs town and he communicated with her on Snapchat and via SMS after they met.

“He encouraged the teen to meet him and have sexual intercourse with him,” Ms Yousufzai said.

The court heard the pair first had sex in a motel in the Western Downs region in October, evident by the film he recorded of the act and dialogue Collis used in messages to the teen afterwards where he convinced her to travel to Central Queensland for more sex.

“He was aware of her age, that she was only 13,” Ms Yousufzai said.

“He was aware that having a sexual relationship with someone of her age was illegal.”

She said the child tried to cease communication with Collis in June but he convinced her not to, telling her she was the only one who made him happy.

Ms Yousufzai said the child expressed concern her guardians would tell police.

She said Collis expressed his desire for a long-term relationship with the child “and asked if she could time travel four years ahead and asked her if she wanted to have kids”.

Ms Yousufzai said Collis also expressed possessiveness desires, asking her for passwords to her social media accounts, deleted content he thought was “slu--y” and gave her grooming instructions.

She said Collis arranged to pick the child up and drive her to Central Queensland.

Nicholas Lawrence George Collis, 23.

Ms Yousufzai said the child’s guardians had asked where she was going and she told them she was going to a relative’s residence in another Western Downs town.

She said when they became aware the child was not where she said she was going, and she would not answer their phone calls or respond to SMSes, they called police.

When police located the child with Collis, they both lied by telling police they were not in a sexual relationship.

“Her comments to police were indicative she was not aware she was being taken advantage of,” Ms Yousufzai said.

Defence barrister Julie Marsden said her client was initially told the girl was 17, but accepted he was the adult and should have known better once he found out she was actually 13.

She said the communication was both ways between the child and Collis; and they were both vulnerable at the time.

“The victim running away, to some extent, was due to an issue going on in that (guardians) house, separate to my client,” Ms Marsden said.

She said the decision to relocate to Rockhampton was made by both of them.

Ms Marsden said Collis was one of 12 children to his parents and his mother and other family members had driven from the Western Downs to Rockhampton for the sentence.

Ms Marsden said Collis had been in a five-year relationship before this offending and had an 18-month child from that relationship.

She said that long-term relationship ended suddenly and Collis had not seen his child, which he was devastated about.

Nicholas Lawrence George Collis, 23.

She said Collis had been in a serious motorcycle accident where he sustained major injuries to his arms and legs which required plates.

Ms Marsden said he had been working in construction at the time of the offending, but was unable to return to that industry due to his injuries.

She said he had previously worked at McDonalds and one of his brothers had lined up a job for him in Toowoomba once he was released from custody.

Ms Marsden said Collis had been using ice (methamphetamines) before he was incarcerated for the sexual offences, having started using marijuana at age 16.

Judge Katherine McGinness said the child’s guardian had told Collis to stay away.

She said the messages indicated Collis had a lack of care and respect for the child in some of his demands of her.

“It’s really important in the future that you be careful how you treat women you are in a relationship with because you don’t want to get involved in domestic violence allegations and end up back in custody,” Judge McGinness said.

She sentenced Collis to 18 months prison, suspended after serving 273 days, declared 273 days presentence custody as time served and set an operational period of 18-months.

Judge McGinness also placed Collis on an 18-month probation order.