Stephen Middleton pleads guilty to importing childlike sex doll, possessing child abuse material

A Singleton man who pleaded guilty to importing a childlike sex doll from China told police, “it didn’t look to me like a child”.

A Singleton man has told police the reason he ordered a ‘small-statured’ sex doll was so he could stow it away, citing “if you get a full-size one, people come over and they’re going to see it and think you’re a freak”.

Stephen Ross Middleton, 31, of Hunterview was arrested by Australian Border Force (ABF) investigators and NSW Police on December 21 last year after they discovered he had bought a childlike sex doll online.

In an interview with police he told officer the doll didn’t look like a child, citing he just ordered a sex doll online.

Court documents have revealed ABF officers intercepted a package in Sydney on December one last year coming from Shenzen China, which was found to contain the mannequin made of silicon.

Stephen Middleton pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court to buying a child sex doll and possessing child abuse material. Picture: Amy Ziniak

The package also contained a brunette wig, internal heating rod, white gloves, pink blanket and a small white dress.

Police facts said the dolls’ limbs could be manipulated and its features were consistent with the appearance of a female pre-pubescent child and included a cavity designed for sexual activity.

Further enquiries found Middleton’s paypal account was linked to the transaction, the doll costing $574.

Investigators raided the 31-year-old’s home at Hunterview more than three weeks later and seized a number of devices including an SD card, hard drive, CDs and an iphone. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Court documents said later examination of the devices found porn sites highlighted in the notes application of the iphone, and notes on a mini or small sex doll.

Hundreds of images and videos of child abuse material was also found at the Singleton residence, which included images of young girls, some labelled as young as six.

In a later interview with police he said he had ordered a sex doll online and ordered a small one to stow it away, and also told officers he had ordered two other dolls in the past in 2015 and 2017, not realising it was illegal to import them.

Middleton appeared at Newcastle Courthouse on Wednesday. (AAP Image/Mark Russell)

“I ordered a sex doll, not a child sex doll. The reason I ordered one that is so small physically is so that I could stow it away because if you get a full size one, like (sic) people come over and they’re going to see it and think you’re a freak because you’ve got a sex doll,” he said according to court documents.

Police facts detailed how the doll was advertised on a website as ‘mini teen sex doll Alison’ and described as having a ‘cute and sexy body size’.

Middleton also revealed to police that he masturbated to the images because they made him feel ‘extra aroused in a bad way’.

He also said he was sexually attracted to young girls, generally high school aged girls and started looking at this type of material from about late 2017.

Middleton appeared in person at Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday as he pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally importing goods comprising of a childlike sex doll and possession of child abuse material.

Each charge carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

Other charges were withdrawn including possession of child abuse material and possess/control child abuse material using a carriage service.

His solicitor made a bail variation to suspend reporting for a short period so his client could go on holiday to Perisher next month, which was granted by Magistrate Caleb Franklin.

The matters were then sent back to the local court at Muswellbrook, adjourned for a week.