Helensburgh pedophile Mark Williscroft sentenced for possessing and producing child abuse material

A pedophile sex tourist caught with more than 100gb of child abuse material told a psychologist it was “more arousing” to pleasure himself to images of children he knew, a court has heard.

Helensburgh man Mark Williscroft was jailed for a maximum of six years and 11 months. Picture: Instagram

A pedophile sex tourist caught with more than 100gb of child abuse material told a psychologist it was “more arousing” to pleasure himself to images of children he knew, a court has heard.

Mark Arthur Williscroft was sentenced in Wollongong District Court on Friday to six years and 11 months behind bars after previously pleading 10 charges, including possessing child abuse material and four counts of producing child abuse material.

The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of carrying out a sex act on another without consent, grooming a child under 14 for unlawful sex and intentionally recording an intimate image without consent.

Documents tendered in court state the vile offending was unearthed after Williscroft was busted graffitiing train infrastructure with a search warrant of his Helensburgh home revealing his sickening secrets.

Police found 123GB of child abuse material – including more than 15,000 images and videos – on USBs, a laptop and a mobile phone owned by the bakery delivery driver.

Mark Williscroft told an Australian girl he “goes to Thailand” to “do what he liked” with children. Picture: Instagram

The court documents state much of the material was sourced from Europe and Asia, however, there were also 15 files produced by Williscroft of four children more than a decade ago.

The documents state police also found five videos of Williscroft masturbating on a train in the presence of either young adult women or girls, as well as intimate images of young adults having sex inside a house.

During investigations into Williscroft’s conduct, police spoke to one of the four children who divulged the offender gave her drugs and alcohol and coerced her into sex acts nearly a decade ago.

“I want to have an hour with you as long as I can take photos of you naked and while I f--k you,” Williscroft said to a then 13-year-old girl.

The documents state Williscroft sent the girl naked Snapchats and told her he “wanted to do what he liked with her” and how he “goes to Thailand and does the same thing”.

The court heard Mark Williscroft “used pornography as a coping mechanism”.

In court on Friday, the girl, who is now an adult, said she is still processing the trauma inflicted by Williscroft’s evil actions.

“I’m normally a person who tries to find the positives in most situations, but it’s hard to see the positives anymore,” she said.

“I struggle to comprehend how an adult can take advantage of a vulnerable child knowing that it will cause them pain and suffering.”
Judge Andrew Haesler said Williscroft was “frank” with a psychologist as to “what he did and why he did it”.

The court heard the predator “used pornography as a coping mechanism” and taking pictures of people he knew was “more arousing to him”.

“The context in which (the images of the people Williscroft knew) were taken is serious, particularly as we must be able to trust neighbours in our community,” Judge Haesler said.

“The trust was abused by these actions.”

The judge set a non-parole period of four years and six months, meaning with time already served he will be eligible for release in September, 2027. The full sentence will expire in February, 2030.

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