Andrea Marcel Banks pleads guilty to child grooming offences at Merrylands

A young woman who admitted grooming a child for sex is fighting allegations of causing a 13-year-old girl to participate in prostitution. Find out the next step for her and her co-accused.

Andrea Marcel Banks, left, leaves Parramatta Local Court after pleading guilty to child grooming offences.

A young woman has pleaded guilty to child grooming offences carried out on 13 and 14-year-old girls at Merrylands.

Minchinbury 21-year-old Andrea Marcel Banks appeared at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday, where she pleaded guilty to two counts of procuring a child under 14 for unlawful sexual activity.

She is defending charges of causing a child under 14 to participate in child prostitution.

Papers tendered to the court state Banks intentionally procured a 13-year-old girl to have sex with her and a man, Jayavarman Eugen Kirk Sakaluk, between August and October 2020.

During the same period, she groomed a 14-year-old girl to have sex with her and the same man.

Mr Sakaluk, 28, has been hit with nine charges including three counts of having sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14, having sexual intercourse with a child between 14 and 16, disseminating child abuse material, participating as a client with child under 14 in prostitution and intentionally sexually touching a child.

The Wetherill Park man has not entered pleas.

Police also allege Banks induced a 13-year-old girl to participate in an act of prostitution.

Two counts of doing an act of child prostitution were withdrawn.

Three counts of having sexual intercourse with a child under 14 were also dropped.

Banks’ bail was continued and she was committed for sentencing. She will return to court on March 10, when Mr Sakaluk is due to be arraigned.