Greg Rynenberg’s son Daniel John Rynenberg sentenced for soliciting nudes from pre-teen boys
An insurance chief executive has attended a Brisbane court to support his adult son, who gave hundreds of dollars worth of PlayStation giftcards to pre-teen boys in exchange for nude photos on Snapchat.
Police & Courts
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A millionaire insurance broker has attended a Brisbane court to support his adult son, who gave hundreds of dollars worth of PlayStation giftcards to pre-teen boys in exchange for nude photos on Snapchat.
Daniel John Rynenberg, 31-year-old son of East West Insurance Brokers CEO Greg Rynenberg, faced Brisbane District Court on Monday for sentence.
The court was told Daniel Rynenberg had offered hundreds of dollars worth of giftcards to four boys, aged 12 to 13, throughout a four-month period in 2022.
The court heard boys had all gone to the same school and became involved after the first victim told them he knew a man that would give them giftcards if they did “weird stuff”.
Rynenberg had asked multiple victims for photos of their genitalia, telling one “if you trust me and want to be my best special friend,” he should send a photo.
Rynenberg had also sent photos of his own genitalia to some children, the court was told.
He pleaded guilty at sentence to four counts of using the internet to procure a child under 16, and three counts of indecent treatment.
Greg Rynenberg attended court to support his son, but rested his head in his hand for much of the proceedings, eyes cast downwards.
The court was told Deborah Rynenberg, Daniel’s mum, was supportive as well but was too distressed by her son’s crimes to come to court in person.
Defence barrister Tim Ryan said Rynenberg was currently living in a family-owned unit in Carina Heights, with the apps on his phone strictly monitored by his father.
The court heard Rynenberg would be required to spend time in actual custody for his offending, unless he could show there were exceptional circumstances at play.
Mr Ryan said his client’s lifelong intellectual disability and “extremely low” IQ, combined with his strong family support and efforts to seek psychological assistance, met this criteria for exceptional circumstances.
A psychologist’s report suggested there was no evidence to support a paraphilia diagnosis, rather Rynenberg had likely been corrupted by exposure to adult pornography.
It suggested that Rynenberg’s intention was initially to form friendships, and that he had had a limited understanding of sexuality.
The court heard Rynenber’s intellectual disability meant he was more likely to form cognitive distortions to justify behaviour in his own mind.
Judge Brad Farr said Rynenberg’s offending was “manipulative” and “designed to corrupt” the children involved.
But he found that Rynenberg’s unique combination of circumstances, including a lack of any criminal history, ultimately persuaded him that his circumstances were exceptional.
Judge Farr sentenced Rynenberg to 15 months jail, immediately suspended for an operational period of three years, along with three years of probation.
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