Christopher Scarff: Brisbane man jailed for grooming teen girl
A Brisbane man in his forties groomed a young girl over a period of two-and-a-half years, calling her his ‘girlfriend’, a court has heard.
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A Brisbane man in his mid-forties groomed a young girl for two-and-a-half years, referring to her as his “girlfriend”, complimenting her “cute arse”, providing her with cannabis and assaulting her by squeezing her buttocks under the underwear, a court has heard.
Drewvale man Christopher John Scarff, 49, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday to seven counts.
They included four of aggravated supply of a dangerous drug to a minor, and one each of grooming a child under the age of 16, indecent assault of a child under the age of 16, and possessing dangerous drugs.
The court heard the disturbing offences occurred between December 31, 2017 and May 1, 2020.
His victim was aged between 12 – 14 throughout the offending.
Scarff’s grooming, described by Justice Helen Bowskill as “almost incomprehensible”, began with repeated inappropriate comments to the girl.
They included that she had a “cute arse”; that she was his “girlfriend”; that he had a “crush” on her; and that he was “jealous of her boyfriend”.
The court heard he slapped her on her buttocks repeatedly; bought her gifts; and indecently assaulted her sometime during the period by reaching into her underwear and squeezing her buttocks.
On two occasions, he supplied her with the drug cannabis.
Scarff’s victim disclosed his offending to her mother on May 4 last year, the court heard.
During a pretext call she made him a month later, on June 4, Scarff told her, “I just love you a little bit more than I should” and admitted he “went overboard”.
A search warrant on Scarff’s address uncovered a small quantity of cannabis, a pipe and other related paraphernalia.
Justice Bowskill told the court Scarff’s perversion had a “significant impact” on his young victim.
He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of three years after serving four months behind bars.
He was also placed on two years’ probation.
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