Coffs Harbour sex offenders exposed after being convicted of their crimes

A therapist, a school teacher and a masseuse. These are the names of some of Coffs Harbour’s most shocking sex offenders.

Their disturbing crimes shocked members of the Coffs Coast community, were detailed in court and, in most cases, led to jail time.

From health professionals to school teachers, here are the circumstances surrounding some of the most disturbing sex offences to take place in the region.

Due to laws designed to protect victims of crime, The Advocate is unable to name some of the offenders.

Timothy Moffatt – A “predator” masseur who assaulted 48 female clients

Remedial massage therapist Timothy Moffatt was skilled in the art of manipulation – managing to groom and indecently assault 48 clients over a shocking ten year period.

The Coffs Harbour man was sentenced to at least nine years behind bars, but died in jail after serving three.

“He was a registered professional so I thought he could be trusted. But he was a predator – and he was very clever,” victim and Coffs marriage celebrant Samantha Dawson told the Advocate following his death.

“He was really evil.”

Between the years of 2004-2014, he managed to get away with indecently ­assaulting his female clients by using inappropriate “relaxation” techniques on them, which included touching their breasts and genitalia.

Craig Myles Baker – A psychologist who “abused his position” to prey on young male patients

Mugshot of paedophile psychologist Craig Baker. Photo: Supplied.

A sexual predator lied about his crimes in the United States to become a child psychologist in Coffs Harbour where he had free reign to prey on the most vulnerable boys and young men who had come to him for help.

Craig Myles Baker was last year sentenced in the District Court for 13 charges and will spend at least 12 years in jail after he “abused his position of trust and authority” to groom and sexually assault male patients as young as nine-years-old.

The court heard Baker’s sordid sexual crimes began in Ohio in 1992, when the then bank worker exposed himself to a juvenile at a building site. Read the full story here.

Former school bus driver who assaulted a young boy in his care

A former school bus driver was sentenced to at least three years behind bars in 2019 over the historical rape and assault of an underage boy who was in his care.

The man who had been working as a local holiday park manager was arrested by police in 2015, more than two decades after the offences took place.

The man who cannot be named for legal reasons was sentenced in the NSW District Court on one charge of sexual intercourse with a person under 16, and two charges of aggravated indecency.

Full story here.

Howard Spearing – Teacher jailed for raping teen at a party

Howard John Spearing was jailed for the sexual assault charges.

A former Coffs Coast high school teacher was jailed last year for raping a heavily intoxicated teenage girl at a Halloween party – telling her things like “you're so unconscious” while committing the assault.

Howard John Spearing, 62, was sentenced to a non-parole period of 12 months on two charges of sexual intercourse without consent at Coffs Harbour District Court.

The court heard that the assault occurred at a Halloween party organised by a relative on the night of October 26, 2018. Twenty to thirty guests, who were mostly teenagers, were in attendance. The victim arrived dressed in a costume and it was heard Spearing gave her jello shots and several alcoholic drinks throughout the evening.

Full story here.

Kevin Scott – Serial offender who assaulted a teen in a toilet cubicle

Kevin Scott has been jailed twice for sex offences.

A serial paedophile made headlines following his controversial release from jail into the small town of Dorrigo in 2018, after serving two years for indecently assaulting a young male teen in a since-demolished public toilet cubicle in Coffs Harbour.

The teen eventually managed to escape from the man, who was aged 71 at the time, after being cornered.

Scott was first convicted in 2003 for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl at Coffs Harbour park and was handed a 13 year jail term. Read more here.

Man had “no remorse” for assaulting partner’s friend after wedding

A sex offender showed “no remorse” despite being found guilty of raping his long-term partner’s close friend while she was asleep, a court has heard.

The crime took place at the victim's home after the group of friends attended a wedding together in February last year. The 30-year-old man, who cannot be named, was handed a four month non-parole period in the Coffs Harbour District Court last year after he was found guilty by a jury of sexual intercourse without consent.

“This is a case of an unsuspecting sleeping woman in her own bed in her own home being subjected to sexual intercourse without consent,” Judge Jonathan Priestley said in his judgment.

Full story here. 

Donald Malloy – Woodworker who was jailed for the historical abuse of a child

Hearing Judge King sentence Donald Malloy to prison at Coffs Harbour’s District Court in 2018, Rachael* was relieved that after almost 20 years, justice was finally served.

“Paedophiles forget that children eventually grow up,” she said.

Malloy was sentenced to jail for five years and six months for the offences of sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10-16 years, and an act of indecency toward a child under 16 years inflicted upon Rachael, who was aged 29 by the time of his sentence.

Malloy, who was a regular face at local markets selling his woodwork, was arrested in 2015 at a home in Toormina for the historical sexual assaults that took place in the late ‘90s.

Full story here.