Illawarra man Hayden Ebejer admits to sending sexually explicit photos, videos to 14-year-old ‘girl’
A young Wollongong man has admitted to sending sexually explicit pictures and videos to a 14-year-old online — not knowing it was actually a police officer — as shocking details of his conversation with the ‘girl’ are revealed in court.
Illawarra Star
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A 20-year-old sexual predator has admitted to sending explicit images and videos to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl, but was actually a police officer, after a sting into online child exploitation.
Disturbing messages Wollongong’s Hayden Ebejer sent to the “girl” via Facebook were revealed on Wednesday, after he pleaded guilty to several charges, including using a carriage service to procure person believed to be under 16, possess child abuse material and use carriage to transmit child pornography material.
A former Catholic high school student, Ebejer was arrested and charged at the beginning of 2019, where he told police he’d only started talking to the girl because he was a “very lonely person” and “got desperate”.
According to court documents, on November 26, 2018, police created an Assumed Online Identity or AOI purporting to be a 14-year-old girl, and sent Ebejer a friend request via Facebook.
Later that day, Ebejer, who was 19 at the time, accepted the request, and began talking to the girl.
“How old are you,” he said.
“I’m 14,” the girl responded.
After establishing a conversation with the girl, court documents reveal Ebejer sent her an image with a list of 46 questions, suggesting they pick questions for the other to answer.
The list ranged from simple ‘getting to know to know you’ questions like height, age and favourite show, to overtly sexual questions like are you a virgin, what’s your favourite sex position and ‘send me a pic of your choice you cannot say no’.
Police, posed as the girl asked Ebejer “what’s your darkest secret”, to which he responded “I like girls younger than me”.
“Like me lol?” the girl wrote back.
“Yeah,” wrote Ebejer.
Later in the conversation Ebejer asked the girl if she would “like to have pic”.
After the girl said it was up to him, he sent through a photo of himself holding his erect penis.
The following day on November 27, court documents state Ebejer asked the girl if she’d like to go on a date, suggesting they go to the shops and watch a movie.
Minutes later, he sent another photo of his penis, saying “tell me how much you like it”.
The conversation continued over the following days, with Ebejer further requesting the girl to meet up with him for lunch, “some fun” and a movie, with the conversation again becoming sexual.
“What kind of fun u mean,” the girl wrote.
“Gong to the shops looking around, maybe doing some adult stuff,” he responded.
When the girl questioned what he meant by adult stuff, Ebejer wrote back with “touching each other … well touching each other’s private parts”.
In December, the conversation moved to Skype, with court documents stating Ebejer began video-chatting the girl as he performed explicit acts on himself.
Shortly after, he again suggested the meet in person, telling the girl he wanted to touch her sexually.
The police, posing as the teen girl, again reminded Ebejer of her age, saying she was “only 14”.
On December 10 and 11, court documents reveal the conversation became more explicit, with Ebejer sending the girl several pornographic videos, and ask the girl to perform sexual acts for him while wearing her school uniform.
On January 8, police stormed Ebejer’s workplace, where he was employed as an apprentice fitter, and placed him under arrest.
He participated in an interview with police, where court documents detail he admitted to sending the AOI “things he shouldn’t have” but stopped shortly after because he “knew it was wrong”.
Despite telling the girl he wanted ted to have sex with her and trying to organise a date with her, Ebejer told police that if the opportunity did come up, he probably wouldn't have taken it, saying he “got desperate” and “wasn’t really thinking”.
After the interview, police seized Ebejer’s phone, as well as; laptop, desktop computer and iPad, where they located a total of 112 videos and photos that featured child abuse material.
After pleading guilty to the offences at Wollongong Local Court, Ebejer, who was supported by his parents, was committed for sentence in the NSW District Court by Magistrate Michael Stoddart.
The matter will return to court next month where a sentence date will be set.