David Frewin: South coast mother warns parents to be aware of online predators
A mother harassed by her former friend online said she had no idea the paedophile was sending vile online messages to children.
The South Coast News
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A mother has warned of the dangers of online child predators after she was harassed online by a convicted south coast paedophile.
The woman said many in the Moruya community were shocked when 48-year-old grandfather David Frewin was arrested by police last year after contacting an underage girl online.
The court heard a girl’s father took screenshots of some of Frewin’s attempted contact with his daughter, which included references to pornographic films.
The girl told her father about the inappropriate contact and a police sting operation caught Frewin attempting to meet a teenage girl he met online at a Parramatta hotel, even offering her ice and ecstasy to “enhance the sexual experience”.
However, the girl Frewin thought was just 14-years-old was actually an undercover police officer.
Frewin was sentenced to four and a half years behind bars this month after pleading guilty to two counts of using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person aged under 16, using a carriage service to groom someone under 16 for sex, using a carriage service to menace and using a carriage service to procure someone under 16 for sexual activity.
He will be paroled in 2024.
The mother claimed Frewin had become an online “predator” targeting not just teenage girls but women, as he sought to fulfil his sexual fantasies.
She received multiple messages from one of Frewin’s aliases “Moruya Mack”, containing graphic sexual content, but did not feel comfortable confronting him about it.
“It’s hurt to think I didn’t know who was around my kids, but I knew there was something off with him,” she said.
“He is a creepy man that used to send me really weird stuff through [Facebook] messenger.
“I think a lot if people are shocked about what he was really like.”
The mother said children and parents should be better educated about online safety and what to do when they are contacted by potential predators online.
“I would advise to have your social media blocked to other users unless you friend them,” she said.
“And I think until you’re at least 16 a parent should check your social media and children should talk to someone that they trust if they feel uncomfortable.
“I’m happy that the girl was comfortable going to her parent, but I know a lot of kids these days don’t trust their parents and will just hide it until something bad happens.
“I know I was like that when I was a child.”
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