Junior rugby league coach asked underage players about their sexual activity

A former junior rugby league coach awaiting sentence for child exploitation asked four victims almost half his age about their “sexual activity”.

WARNING: Disturbing content.

A former junior rugby league coach arrested on the oval during training asked four underage players about masturbation and told one he could join for a “race”, court documents reveal.

Joshua Daniel Perestrelo, 27, has pleaded guilty in the NSW District Court to three counts of using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16 and one count of using a carriage service to solicit child pornography.

According to the agreed facts, obtained by news.com.au on Monday, Perestrelo contacted all four of his underage victims over private message on Instagram and asked them about masturbation, which he sometimes referred to as “batting”.

He inquired about their sexual activity including whether they used pornography, whether they ejaculated, their penis size or measurement and about “sex with girls” or “girls on the tune”.

The offending occurred across 18 days in April 2019 when he was 25 and working at a Sydney rugby league club.

Perestrelo told his sentence hearing on Friday he hadn’t accepted his sexuality at the time and has a sexual interest in “younger guys”.

The former Christian Brothers’ High School student said he comes from a “pretty traditional family, where I suppose homosexuality wasn’t put in the greatest light”.

Joshua Perestrelo.

He was arrested during training.

SENDING INDECENT MATERIAL

Perestrelo messaged the first victim, called Child 1 for legal reasons, less than an hour after an image of a “semi-nude female” was posted in a group chat, the court documents state.

In one message about pornography, he asked: “when did u start watching.”

“When the child became uncomfortable and ceased responding meaningfully, the Offender stated: ‘Chill man if convo is too much just say haha’,” the facts state.

His message continued: “Still new to it. You’ll get there eventually.”

The boy confided in a friend and his mother and the matter was reported to NSW Police.

Perestrelo was arrested on the oval during training one night in May 2019.

He admitted to police his chat with Child 1 had been “an inappropriate conversation”.

“But that he sees the boys as mates and wasn’t thinking at the time and treated it as such, which was stupid,” the court papers state.

“Following his arrest the offender’s mobile phone was seized for evidential purposes.

“A forensic examination of the mobile phone resulted in further child victims being identified.”

The 27-year-old sent messages to the four boys via Instagram. Picture: iStock

Perestrelo’s messages to his second victim were “initially focused on rugby league training”.

“Then after a short period the offender began to talk about pornography, and asked the child if he masturbated,” the facts state.

“The offender would message the child every two or three days over the Instagram chat, for approximately three weeks.

“At the end of this period, Child 2 deleted his Instagram account and created a new account on Instagram so that the offender could not find him.

“Child 2 stated (in an interview with police) the messages made him feel uncomfortable, and that if he failed to reply the offender continued to contact, asking him why he hadn’t replied.”

The coach had private discussions on Instagram with his next victim, Child 3, over seven days, talking about “masturbation, pornography and sex with girls”.

In one message to the boy, Perestrelo wrote: “You guys should’ve tag teamed her hahahaha.”

The facts state the conversation that day was “preoccupied with sexual material” and Perestrelo asked the boy if he was “horny” yet.

His comments about sex included: “In the moment Ur just like oah this is what I want. Then afterwards sometimes Ur just like eurgh and don’t wanna be near em and just awkward.”

On the topic of masturbation, he asked: “cool chatting about this s**t or too weird for ya”.

“He then suggested the two go ‘question for question’,” the facts state.

“He asked the child if he had ever measured his penis.”

Joshua Perestrelo (centre) is due to be sentenced this week. Picture: Supplied

SOLICITING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Perestrelo’s fourth offence, of soliciting child pornography, carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars.

The coach initiated a number of conversations with Child 4 about “sexually explicit topics”, including asking “What’s your biggest fantasy?”, and the boy sent him “a total of two files”.

Perestrelo asked the boy: “Should we just Skype it up tonight then can screen share the vid?”.

When the child said he was too tired, the coach replied: “Oh lol nah running scared aye.”

At his sentence hearing on Friday, Perestrelo said the Skype conversation had been to “share the same pornographic video, pretty much” and masturbate at the same time.

On another occasion, he asked Child 4 for “proof” of his masturbation and to further “prove it” with a picture of his “bulge”.

In another message he said: “I’ll msg when I’m doin later and can join for race if wabt (sic)”.

At his sentence hearing on Friday, Perestrelo said he was “extremely sorry” to his victims and their families.

“I can only hope that they can move on and it hasn’t affected them too negatively,” he said.

Crown prosecutor John Song said the messages sent by the coach were “fundamentally degrading” and by someone with a “domineering level of influence”.

“(He was) utilising his position of trust and standing in the community, which enabled him to readily communicate with multiple children,” he said.

Asked by Mr Song why he had written: “Haha all this chat stays between only us tho alright” in a conversation he had with Child 4, Perestrelo replied: “I guess I knew it was wrong.”

The 27-year-old is due to be sentenced by Judge John North on Wednesday.

Originally published as Junior rugby league coach asked underage players about their sexual activity