Jarred Roberts of Ballina sentenced at Lismore court for child grooming

A Ballina youth worker has been sentenced for grooming a 14-year-old boy on Grindr for sex. But in a major turn, a court heard the man was “catfished” and “lured” to a carpark where he was attacked by a “vigilante”.

Jarred Roberts, 30, outside Lismore court house.

A Ballina youth worker has been sentenced for grooming a 14-year-old boy on dating app Grindr for sex.

But in a major twist it was revealed in court the 30-year-old was “catfished” and “lured” to a carpark where he was attacked by a “vigilante”.

Jarred Roberts sat in the dock at Lismore District Court on Tuesday, fidgeting as the prospect of jail time loomed over him after pleading guilty to one count of using a carriage service to procure a 14-year-old for sexual activity.

He went to the Evans Head pool car park planning to engage in sexual acts with the teenager at about 11pm in June last year, the court heard.

Grindr is a dating app popular with gay and bisexual men. Picture: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

But when he arrived, he found an angry “vigilante” who called Roberts a “pedophile” and “threw something at him” when he got out of his car, the court heard.

The vigilante yelled at Roberts: “What are you doing here meeting a 14-year-old boy,” Judge Jonathan Priestley told the court.

Confusion reigned over the timeline of events, with Judge Priestley finding that the Grindr messages, and the meeting with the “vigilante” occurred on the same, unspecific day in June.

About six months later, Roberts received a screenshot via Facebook of his Grindr conversation showing he intended to meet up with a 14-year-old for sexual intercourse.

Jarred Roberts, 30, pleaded guilty to using a phone to procure person under 16 years for sexual activity.

The sender of the screenshot threatened to “expose” Roberts to his family and employer.

At the time, Roberts was a youth worker with the Bunjum Aboriginal Corporation and worked in schools as a teacher’s aide.

He was also volunteering with the Ballina Bull Sharks Touch Football Association, an after school sports program and was the secretary of the Cabbage Tree Island rugby club.

He stepped away from these roles after he received the threat of being exposed and turned himself into police, showing them the screenshots and telling them: “When I first started it was 18 … I got there and (he) was 14”.

Roberts’ defence barrister said his client was caught up in a “catfishing enterprise” with the “14-year-old” “luring” and “entrapping” Roberts under a “false pretence” using the adult only dating app.

Lismore Court House.

The issue of when Roberts became aware he was meeting with a supposed 14-year-old was “critical”, with Judge Priestley finding beyond reasonable doubt Roberts knew he was meeting a teenager for sexual activity.

Judge Priestley said the case had a “flavour of vigilantism”, but that didn’t reduce the severity of this type of offending – or the punishment – because children were vulnerable to online predators, with online predation becoming more prevalent in the community.

Judge Priestley said Roberts’ offending was “impulsive” and “opportunistic” and he “dabbled in something he shouldn’t”.

Roberts was convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 20 months.

However Judge Priestley ordered Roberts to serve the sentence in the community on a recognisance release order due to “exceptional circumstances”.

Roberts must be good behaviour, undergo psychological treatment and be supervised by Community Corrections.