Scott McDonald: Bayside Council clerk sentenced over PlayStation
A Sydney council clerk and registered child sex offender has been hauled back to court after he failed to tell police he had a PlayStation, which can be used to make friends and create group chats.
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A Sydney council clerk and registered child sex offender has been hauled back to court after he failed to tell police he had a PlayStation.
Scott McDonald, 58, was sentenced to a three-year bond and became a registered child sex offender after he was convicted of possessing child abuse material and offensive behaviour in a public place at Manly Local Court in July 2014.
St George police then charged him with failing to comply with his reporting obligations in March 2020 after they discovered he had failed to declare the existence of his PlayStation, which can be used as a social networking tool.
“At 3.20pm on March 28, detectives attached to St George Child Protection Register Team attended the accused’s primary residence in relation to a home inspection,” police facts stated.
“Police looked at this email account and noticed that he had a recent email from PlayStation stating ‘Hi Scott, we’ve missed you on the PS Store’.”
When they accessed McDonald’s PlayStation, police then found an inbox with two friend requests and the option to open a chat group.
“Police asked the accused if he was aware that he could use the device to chat to people, to which he replied ‘I was, yes, I never thought of it like that’,” police facts stated.
The Banksia man was required to inform police of all social media and internet accounts he possessed as part of his obligations as a registered child sex offender for eight years until July 2022.
McDonald pleaded guilty to failing to comply with his reporting obligations at Sutherland Local Court and Magistrate Jayeann Carney sentenced him to a two-year community corrections order.
“He had strict obligations, and he had to report his personal information to police,” Ms Carney said.
“He says he never thought of (the PlayStation) like that – that is a weak, inadequate explanation.”
Ms Carney acknowledged that he had never responded to the friend requests and the court heard he had used it years prior to play a handful of games, including a Texas hold’em poker game.
McDonald is currently employed full-time at Bayside Council as an administrative clerk.