Police let Facebook sex beast walk free for four years

EXCLUSIVE: A FACEBOOK sex creep who used fake social media profiles to harass girls as young as 13 for sex and naked photos was allowed­ to roam the streets for four years after a major stuff-up by police.

• Law change aimed at preventing sex offender listing
• Police warn of the dangers of teens using Tinder

A FACEBOOK sex creep who used fake social media profiles to harass girls as young as 13 for sex and naked photos was allowed­ to roam the streets for four years after a major stuff-up by the NSW Police Force.

Michael Aboud, 52, was arrested in July 2011 at Tweeds Head after he was caught using Facebook accounts to harass eight girls aged 13 to 15 for nude photos.

Despite confessing to being the “sole owner and user” of the accounts and the “damning­” electronic evidence obtained by police, he was released the next day pending “further investigation”.

A Facebook sex creep used fake social media profiles to harass girls as young as 13 for sex and naked photos.

Police did not rearrest and charge Aboud until four years later in March 2015, in a bungle described as “inexcusable” by District Court Judge Laura Wells, who sentenced Aboud last year. Police did not make contact with Aboud once during the four years between his initial arrest and when he was charged.

Details of the bungle were revealed in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday when Aboud unsuccessfully tried to appeal against his seven-year sentence.

Aboud’s Legal Aid lawyer tried arguing he had suffered “ongoing stress and anxiety” while he waited four years to be charged.

The Crown claimed the four-year lag was “a series of unfortunate events” caused by “a number of police officers connected with the investigation sequentially passing responsibility for the matter­ to others.”

Shadow Attorney-General Paul Lynch slammed the case as “outrageous” and said an immediate investigation needed to be launched.

The 52-year-old used Facebook to stalk his prey.

When arrested Michael Aboud was harassing eight teenage girls for nude photos.

“This is an incredibly serious situation,” Mr Lynch said.

“The government needs to explain exactly what has happened and why. They need to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure this never happens again.”

Aboud’s appeal to try to reduce his sentence was rejected but the appeals court said it was “extraordinary” police did not try to make contact with Aboud for four years. Aboud, a married father-of-one from Burringbar, had tracked down the phone numbers and addresses of the underage girls and threatened to call their parents and expose their online activity if they did not send him “sexy photos”.

Posing as a 25-year-old man, he also called a victim on her home phone and tried to lure her to a hotel to have sex with an “older friend” for $500.

NSW Police did not respond to questions from The Daily Telegraph.

Attorney-General Mark Speakman and Police Minister Troy Grant were also approached for comment.