Buff Point: Paedophile Alex Chak Lau to be sentenced next month for abusing eight children

A paedophile who prayed on eight children for years and even broke into one boy’s house to sexually abuse him knew “it’s not the right thing to do”, a court has heard.

A paedophile, who voluntarily stopped abusing children because “it’s not the right thing to do” two years before he was caught, has shown genuine remorse, a court has heard.

But a court has also heard there was no evidence he had in fact stopped and he was in possession of a storage disc containing two videos of children under 16 engaged in sexual activity when he was arrested at his Buff Point home.

Alex Chak Lau faced a sentence hearing at Gosford District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to 21 offences including two counts of sexual intercourse with a child; two counts of detaining a person with intent; aggravated breaking and entering; two counts of aggravated sexual assault and 10 counts of indecent assault.

These offences were carried out against eight victims, being two girls and six boys, between 2008 and 2016.

His Barrister Zaid Khan told the court Lau’s early guilty pleas demonstrated an inherent remorse which was further revealed in a psychologist’s report in which the 50-year-old stated he stopped offending because “it’s not the right thing to do”.

Lau told a psychologist he know his offending wasn’t “the right thing to do”. (AAP Image/Sue Graham)

Mr Khan said there was some infidelity in Lau’s marriage at the time, which was now ended, and alcohol abuse.

He told the court Lau’s overall objective seriousness was not as high as some similar cases because he did not ejaculate and was caught with a small amount of child abuse material compared to other offenders.

However the Crown prosecutor submitted Lau’s offending was aggravated because he was in a position of “trust and authority” when he abused children who visited his house for sleep overs or to play video games.

He said the court could also not find “on the balance of probabilities” Lau had voluntarily stopped offending because there was no evidence other than what he had told the psychologist, which should be given “limited weight” because it was not sworn testimony.

Lau faced a sentencing hearing at Gosford District Court on Friday.

A lengthy set of agreed facts states Lau’s offending began in December 2008 when he sexually assaulted a seven year old girl

He indecently assaulted her again twice in May 2009 while he was living in a unit at Eastwood.

“The victim laid awake for the rest of the night, scared, confused and not wanting to go to sleep in case anything else happened,” the facts state.

In about September 2010 Lau and his wife moved to Scenic Drive, Buff Point, where he met a boy who was in Year 6.

After the boy had a swim in Lau’s pool the victim took a shower where Lau indecently assaulted him.

Lau assaulted the boy in a shower after a swim. (File photo)

“The victim did not tell (anyone) as he was too embarrassed and felt it was his fault because he could not stop it,” the facts state.

In 2011 when the boy was in Year 7 he got detention for skipping class. That afternoon Lau was at the school for an unrelated matter and offered to drive him home.

Lau took him to his house first to play video games and then offered to drive him home but stopped in the Jelly beans Preschool car park and turned the headlights off.

The victim said “What are we doing here?” but Lau didn’t reply and locked the car and pushed the child lock button before indecently assaulting him and detaining him with intent to commit a serious offence.

Eventually he took him home.

He did this on two other occasions, the facts state.

Lau abused a boy when he was in Year 6 and 7. (File image)

One afternoon in 2011, when the victim was in Year 7, he was playing video games at home when he saw Lau in the loungeroom.

He said “What the f. k? What are you doing in my house? You didn’t knock!”

Lau replied “That’s no way to greet a friend”.

The victim told Lau to get out and pushed him but Lau overpowered him and sexually assaulted him.

Two days later Lau again broke into the boy’s house but the victim went into the kitchen and got a knife and picked up a phone and threatened to call police.

Lau indecently and aggravatedly assaulted five other boys between 2011 and 2016 who had stayed at Lau’s house for a sleep over or gone with him on a holiday.

His offending only came to light two years later when the victims confided in their parents and a teacher who filed a report.

On November 6, 2019, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives attended Lau’s Buff Point home where they seized a number of electronic devices including a storage disc with two videos depicting children under 16 engaged in sexual activity.

Judge Sharron Norton said it was “not a simple sentence” and adjourned the matter to December 7 to give her remarks.