Gavin Swindale: Ulladulla man guilty to sending child indecent messages

It took a jury 30 minutes to find a South Coast man guilty of sending images of his penis to a child, followed by disturbing messages reading “like what you see?” and “I love you”.

Gavin Swindale’s trial took place in Nowra District Court. Picture: John Appleyard

It took a jury 30 minutes to find a South Coast man guilty of sending images of his penis to a child, followed by disturbing messages reading “like what you see?” and “I love you”.

Ulladulla man Gavin Swindale saw his bail revoked following the two-day Nowra District Court trial before Judge Christopher O’Brien, after pleading not guilty to using a carriage service to send indecent material to a person under 16.

During the trial, the jury heard Swindale was 48-years-old when he used the social media application “Bigo Live” to send the child multiple images of his penis and other disturbing messages.

Agreed facts read to the jury by the Crown prosecutor stated the offending took place across various March 2023 dates.

Swindale – now 50 – said he believed the minor an adult when sending the images.

His defence barrister Matthew Barnes echoed these claims, stating the child’s profile listed them as 23-years-old.

“He’s a man of good character with no criminal record,” Mr Barnes told the jury during the trial.

“This is a serious charge, but please keep an open mind until the evidence is closed.”

However, the Crown prosecutor noted the recipient of the messages and images sent a picture of their face, “clearly” revealing they were not 23-years-old.

“The Crown case is that [Swindale] did know the age,” they said.

The jury heard Swindale sent another illicit image after seeing the recipient’s face.

Swindale’s jury discharged on May 9 for deliberation, where after a mere 30 minutes, they returned with a guilty verdict.

The Ulladulla man’s existing bail was revoked and he was placed in custody, where he will remain until his sentencing on July 4.

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