Strike Force Trawler: Online groomers pinched by undercover internet cops

Today’s predators lurk behind computer screens and hang out in online chat forums. These are some of the men who have been caught by an elite group of undercover cops.

Specialist officers from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) are tasked with identifying these perpetrators under Strike Force Trawler.

Since its inception in 2005, officers attached to Strike Force Trawler have gone from arresting and charging nine offenders in its first year to charging more than 90 offenders last year.

Offenders come from a range of backgrounds and while some are unemployed and single, others appear — at least from the outset — to be happily married and gainfully employed.

They do however share many commonalities in that they are almost always men, seek out children or their mothers, request explicit photos and make attempts to meet up in person.

They are also almost universally undone when they start talking to what they think is a girl only for it to be CEIU officers from Strike Force Trawler.

Here’s some of the offenders prosecuted in the courts in the past 12 months.

CRAIG JAMES FISHER

A 56-year-old Killarney Vale man had “too much time on his hands” when he became medically retired and started prowling internet chat rooms talking to the “wrong people”, a court has heard.

Craig James Fisher pleaded guilty to two counts of procuring a child under 16 for unlawful sexual activity, inciting a sexual act towards a child under 10 and inciting a child to sexually touch another person.

Police raided Fisher’s home at Killarney Vale where a number of electronic items were seized. (File image)

He also pleaded guilty to a further five charges, including inciting the production of child abuse material, two counts of inciting sexual acts towards a child and two counts of inciting a child to sexually touch another person, which were placed on a Form 1 certificate to be taken into account when he was sentenced.

An agreed set of facts states CEIU police assumed the online identity of a 36-year-old woman who had a nine-year-old daughter and logged into a social networking site in September last year where Fisher was using the username “ozziejoe”.

Fisher directed the communication onto Skype where he engaged in sexually explicit conversations stating the things he would like to do to the mother and her daughter.

He also used his computer’s video camera to expose himself.

Fisher was sentenced in Gosford District Court House last month.

On November 20, 2020 police attended Fisher’s Shortland Ave home where he was arrested and taken to Wyong Police station.

Fisher was sentenced in Gosford District Court last month which heard he had planned to meet up with the woman but did not go through with it when he did not receive a photograph of the child as requested.

He told the court he had been drinking a lot following his medical retirement and got “carried away” with the “fantasy” of talking anonymously online.

He was sentenced to five years jail with a non-parole period of two years and six months.

JONATHON HEATH

A Woy Woy man was sentenced in Gosford District Court after pleading guilty to one count of using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 for sex.

Jonathon Heath, 39, faced court in November last year when he was sentenced to 18 months jail with a non-parole period of six months.

An agreed statement of facts states CEIU officers used an “assumed online identity” and sent a friend request to Heath’s Facebook profile on December 8, 2020, posing as a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

They started conversing and he told her not to tell anyone about him because he was much older than her and later sent a 42 second video of himself masturbating.

He discussed buying alcohol for the girl, asked if she could meet up without her mother knowing and suggested certain sexual activity she might enjoy.

He arranged to meet but never showed and was arrested by police the next day on January 14, 2021.

Heath denied having an interest in children but conceded he was “sexually aroused by the activity”.

GARRY ALLAN JONES

A 63-year-old Central Coast man’s downfall began when he posted an online ad as a sugar daddy looking for a sugar baby.

Garry Allan Jones, of Hamlyn Terrace, posted the ad in June 2020 and unsurprisingly it all went south from there.

Jones thought he was chatting online to a 14-year-old girl, sending her up to 100 messages sexual in nature including a picture of his erect penis, instructions for how she should engage in sexual activity and offering her $100 for oral sex in his car.

Strike Force Trawler detectives charged Jones (right), of Hamlyn Terrace, with using a carriage service to procure a child for sex. Picture: NSW Police

He arranged to meet up and was on his way to Westmead when police from the CEIU pounced in July 2020.

He pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to procure a child under 16 for sexual activity and at his sentence hearing at Newcastle District Court in October Jones admitted his offence was “abhorrent” and “dangerous” but denied he was sexually attracted to people under 16.

He was sentenced to 12 months jail but ordered to be released after four months, which was the time he had already spent in custody.

QI

Two mums were praised for helping bring down a sick paedophile who sent them sexualised videos involving children in the hope of securing a date with them and their kids.

The 33-year-old Central Coast man, who can only be referred to as QI because of a suppression order, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material and one count of soliciting child abuse material.

The man joined a social networking site in late 2019 and met a woman who he sent a number of videos involving child abuse material.

Jones being led into custody. Picture: NSW Police

The woman went to police but they told her she did not have enough evidence.

Another woman started receiving messages from the man in February 2020 and he told her he hoped she shared “the same naughty thoughts” about children.

She also reported it to police but this time specialist officers from the child abuse unit assumed her identity and continued communicating with the man who sent them vile videos before he was arrested in June 2020.

The man was sentenced in Gosford District Court in June 2021 to three and a half years jail with a non-parole period of two years.

The Judge praised the efforts of the two women because it was only their “persistence” which led to the matter being referred to specialist police.

ANDREW SARGENT

A man showed “a sexual interest in children” when he engaged what he thought was a 14-year-old girl in sexually explicit conversations and sent her videos and images, a court heard.

However the girl turned out to be detectives who began engaging with Central Coast man Andrew Sargent in May 2020.

Sargent was arrested at Newcastle in September 2020 and charged with using a carriage service to groom a child under 16.

Sargent, 41, will be sentenced in July. Picture: Facebook

Wyong Local Court heard the 41-year-old initially “rebuffed” police who were posing as the teenager, but on July 13, 2020 allegedly engaged in “considerable and intense communications” with officers online.

Sargent, who has been refused bail since his arrest, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in Gosford District Court on July 22.

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Christopher Moore, 48, of Singleton, was high on ice when he logged onto Facebook in May 2020 and sent messages of a sexual nature to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

However the girl turned out to be undercover police who he asked to exchange naked photographs and at one point discussed a desire to have sex with the girl and her mother.

“I don’t care how young you are, I still want to f**k you,” he wrote to the teenager according to police facts.

Christopher Moore was sentenced to a Commonwealth good behaviour bond. Picture: Amy Ziniak

He also instructed the girl how to masturbate, including written instructions and sending an image of his hand to illustrate.

CEIU officers arrested Moore in July 2021 at Caracourt Caravan Park in Singleton.

Moore later pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material and using a carriage service to send indecent material to person under 16.

He was sentenced in Newcastle District Court to a two-year `recognizance’ or Commonwealth good behaviour order and was sent back to live with his mother at Cessnock as part of his conditions.