David Ross Phillips pleads guilty to grooming fictitious mother, possessing child abuse material

A Queensland man has been jailed after used a woman’s identity online to try and persuade an undercover cop to abuse the officer’s fictitious daughter and was later found with awful child abuse files.

David Ross Phillips outside Maroochydore District Court on Thursday. Picture: Sam Turner

A Beerwah occupational health and safety worker has been sent to prison after using a female persona as an instrument to groom a mother online to allow him to sexually abuse their daughter.

Little did David Ross Phillips know he was in fact talking to an undercover police officer, which resulted in his arrest on multiple heinous charges involving the soliciting and possession of child abuse files.

His offending and the effects of it were heard in the Maroochydore District Court on Thursday following guilty pleas to several charges including grooming of a parent to facilitate child sexual abuse, possessing child exploitation material, and using a carriage service to solicit and transmit child abuse material.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said police were conducting covert online investigations on encrypted applications when an undercover officer integrated themselves into a group chat called “family matters incest only”.

Mr Stark said Phillips was in the chat under the username “pervybbw” where he purported to be a woman.

David Ross Phillips pleaded guilty to all charges. Picture: Sam Turner

It was here the operative spoke to the 63-year-old.

The conversations continued from February 9-10, where he spoke about his depraved sexual proclivities, before requesting the operative bring her 11-year-old ‘daughter’ to meet him.

Mr Stark said Phillips described in graphic sexual detail what he would do to the fictional child who he thought was real. The 63-year-old asked for intimate photos of the 11-year-old girl as well and sent a child abuse video to himself on email of a young boy being sexually tortured.

He was taken into custody after his sentence. Picture: Sam Turner

Detectives would later raid Phillips’ home where, during the six-hour search, they found on his devices images and videos depicting the heinous abuse of children from newborns up to 10 years old.

Concerningly, the court was told these offences were almost identical to a previous jail sentence the Beerwah man was given in 2013 where he used a persona to discuss and send child abuse material online.

David Ross Phillips was jailed for four years, with a non-parole period of 16 months. Picture: File

Defence barrister Michael Bonasia said Phillips’ new wife would suffer hardship when he was jailed due to her suffering a stroke recently. Mr Bonasia said the 63-year-old also lost his job, lost contact with family and suffered financial consequences from his charges.

The barrister told the court Phillips went back to therapy and made admissions to police during the raid.

Judge Long said the Beerwah man’s crimes were not victimless but depicted the heinous abuse of children.

Phillips was jailed for four years, with a non-parole period of 16 months.