Jason Scott Hastie planned to have sex with teen after erotic chat

A Coast father whose “sexual frustration” led him to start an erotic conversation with a teen girl has been found guilty of child grooming offences.

Jason Scott Hastie returns to Maroochydore Court House on the first day of his trial. Picture: Laura Pettigrew.

A Coast father whose “sexual frustration” led him to start an erotic conversation with a teen girl has been found guilty of child grooming offences.

Jason Scott Hastie planned to meet an undercover police officer, who he believed was a 14-year-old girl, after having online sexual conversations with her between December 28, 2019 and January 16, last year.

The Dulong resident pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to using the internet to procure children under 16 and grooming a child under 16 years with intent to expose to indecent matter.

During a two-day trial a jury heard how Mr Hastie had sexual conversations with the girl over a number of social media platforms and told her he would like to “lick her out”, “feel her t..s” and “f..k her”.

Hastie also persistently asked for naked photos of the girl and sent a photo of his penis and a video of himself masturbating while planning to meet and engage in sexual acts with her.

During the trial Hastie claimed his conversations and plans to meet the girl were all a “fantasy” he was creating to ease sexual frustration he had since suffering with erectile dysfunction.

He was found guilty on Wednesday of both offences.

Jason Scott Hastie arrives at Maroochydore District Court with his wife. Picture: Laura Pettigrew.

Hastie also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child exploitation material after a photo of a young girl performing oral sex on an adult male was found on his phone on January 15, last year.

Crown prosecutor John Cahill said during sentencing on Thursday the father of two actively pursued the child believing she was 14.

Mr Cahill suggested Hastie be sentenced to between 18 months and two years in prison.

He said Hastie should serve nine to 12 months of that sentence.

He said the fact the girl was not a real child did not lessen the offence, saying Hastie took it seriously and put effort into planning a meeting in bushland on the northern side of Maroochy River on January 16.

“ … He certainly didn’t meet with a child at the end of the day,” he said.

“However, it would be my submission he certainly was intending to do that, it was only that the police then decided to search his premise and then arrest him (the day prior).”

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Defence barrister Nathan Turner said the absence of a victim and the fact that Hastie never met with the girl should be considered.

“That harm done to a victim is completely absent in the present case because it involved a fictitious person and whilst there is no authority to suggest necessarily that a lesser sentence should be imposed … the reality is the authority do have to take into account the harm done to a victim,” he said.

Mr Turner said Hastie grew up in a poor family and suffered a traumatic childhood impacted by alcoholism.

A report from psychologist Dr Donna Eshuys diagnosed Hastie with generalised anxiety, panic disorder and dyslexia and said his mental health issues had impacted greatly on his life and would make him an obvious target in prison.

The court heard Hastie showed genuine remorse, started treatment days after being charged and was a low risk of reoffending.

Letters from Hastie’s wife, brother and friend described the now 50-year-old as an honest, genuine and dependable man.

They said the offending was out of character.

Mr Turner said a combination of orders including an 18-month prison sentence suspended for three years after serving six months and a probation order would punish Hastie and allow for his continued rehabilitation.

Judge Ken Barlow said Hastie’s admission to receiving sexual images of children that he swapped online to attain more was particularly concerning.

He agreed that despite pleading not guilty, Hastie had shown remorse and sentenced him to an 18-month prison sentence to be suspended for two years after six months.

“Engaging in this sort of conversation with someone who you believed to be a young girl is a serious offence and if it had been a young girl it would have been likely to cause her harm and corruption,” he said.

Mr Barlow said he significantly reduced the prison sentence after taking Hastie’s personal circumstances into consideration.

Hastie will be subject to a probation order for 18 months after his release.

He will be a reportable offender under the Child Protection Act for five years.

Originally published as Jason Scott Hastie planned to have sex with teen after erotic chat