St Andrews pedophile Mark Ward jailed for having sexual intercourse with a child

Despite a career as a NSW Police officer, a real estate agent and a Qantas air host, Mark Ward will be known as a pedophile who sought out, and in one instance raped, boys he found on Grindr.

Mark Ward worked as a realtor in one of his many careers before being caught. Picture: Facebook

Despite a career as a NSW Police officer, a real estate agent and a Qantas air host, Mark Ward will be known as a pedophile who sought out and, in one instance, raped boys he found on Grindr.

Ward, of St Andrews in southwest Sydney, was sentenced in Campbelltown District Court this month to two years and six months behind bars after previously pleading guilty to having sexual intercourse with a child, using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16 and possessing child abuse material.

However, the final year of the sentence will be served on the outside with Judge David Arnott putting in place a recognisance release order which would see Ward, 49, re-enter the community after forfeiting $500.

Documents tendered in court state Ward contacted the victim on Grindr in 2017 at which point the predator was no longer with the NSW Police and was working as a flight attendant for Qantas.

Ward pushed the interactions with the year 7 boy onto Snapchat where he would send pictures in his police uniform as well as asking the child questions about sexual intercourse.

Mark Ward pleaded guilty to the offending earlier this year. Picture: Facebook

The documents state he convinced the boy to let him come over to have sex and said “that’s cool with me” after the victim reiterated his age.

Ward performed a sexual act on the 14-year-old boy before the offender positioned himself on the child’s bed for intercourse.

The documents state Ward pleaded for the boy to continue, however, the victim forced him to leave fearing his family were about to return home.

The victim told a friend about the incident in 2023 before reporting it to police.

Mark Ward groomed the 14-year-old boy on Grindr. Picture: Getty Images

The documents state police set up a fake Grindr profile of a 14-year-old geolocated in Campbelltown which successfully caught the creep.

The documents state Ward asked for “nudes” and sent images including one in a black G-string as well as sexually charged messages.

“[I’m] with a friend … we’re watching porn and he has a couple of fingers stuck in my aaa (sic),” Ward said.

Police arrested Ward in mid 2023 at his St Andrews home where they seized a laptop, two iPhones and an iPad.

Court documents state police accessed Ward’s Telegram account and found messages with a user named “no lim perv”.

Ward’s messages said he could be “tempted” by boys younger than 12.

During a sentencing hearing in November, Ward’s lawyer David Mulligan submitted Ward’s time in custody was made more difficult, not only due to the nature of the offending, but also his history with the NSW Police.

He also submitted certain offender programs were not available to Ward due to his custodial situation.

Ward will be released on a RRO on May 31, 2025, with the full sentence to expire a year later.

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